SINGAPORE : The Government is keeping a close eye on the inflation rate in Singapore, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said on Monday. Speaking during question time in Parliament, Mr Lim pointed out that the inflation rate here has remained low by global comparison.
Inflation rates in the first half of this year were just between 0.5 to 1 percent.
But in July, the rate went up to 2.6 percent over the same period last year.
Mr Lim said he expects the inflation rate in the second half of this year to be higher, in line with global inflation trends due to rising cost pressures in the US, Europe and China.
Dr Lily Neo, MP, Jalan Besar GRC, had earlier commented, "May I ask him whether he's concerned of the recent very high inflation rate in the last quarter, and how would it affect Singapore and Singaporeans on the whole if this should continue? And are there measures that you plan to take to contain this inflation rate?"
In response, Mr Lim said, "We're watching this closely of course. We expect generally in the second half, costs to go up higher than in the first half. Then of course we also have the one-off impact of the GST. But our experience shows in the past, when we had similar increases in GST, that this is a short-term impact, and that over time the impact of course will be mitigated.
"So overall we still look at an inflation path of between 1 (and) 2 percent this year, which is a little higher than what we had in the past years, but definitely still very reasonable, considering this is already more than 16 quarters of growth." - CNA/ms
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