Wall Street dips after Fed's Bullard talks about rates

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended slightly lower on Thursday after the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said interest-rate increases should come sooner rather than later.

Six of the 10 S&P 500 sectors were in negative territory. The S&P financial index (.SPSY) slipped 0.3 percent and ranked among those leading the market's decline.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, in an interview with Fox Business Network, reiterated his belief that raising rates by the end of the first quarter of 2015 would be appropriate.

He said the U.S. jobless rate will fall below 6 percent and inflation looks likely to rise back to 2 percent later this year, putting the economy closer to normal than most realize. Bullard is a non-voting member of the Federal Open Markets Committee, the Fed's policy-making panel.

The Fed had hinted after its meeting this month about a slightly faster pace of interest-rate increases starting next year, but suggested rates in the long run would be lower than it had indicated previously.

Singapore's inflation rises to 2.5% in April, core inflation up at 2.3%

By Teh Shi Ning

Consumer price inflation in Singapore picked up a little less than expected to 2.5 per cent in April, from 1.2 per cent in March.

The median forecast of 16 economists polled by Bloomberg before the Department of Statistics released the data on Friday was for a 2.6 per cent year-on-year rise in the consumer price index (CPI)

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in joint comments that the rise was anticipated and reflected a rise in COE premiums that was exacerbated by the low base a year ago.

Petrol pump prices also edged up at a faster pace, leading to a 5.7 per cent rise in overall private road transport costs in April - reversing four straight months of decline.

Accommodation costs rose at a slower pace of 1.1 per cent in April, compared to 1.7 per cent in March, due to a smaller increase in imputed rentals on owner-occupied accommodation.

With the exception of accommodation, all other major categories showed slightly stronger price increases in April.

As a result, MAS core inflation, which excludes accommodation and private road transport costs, rose to 2.3 per cent from 2 per cent in March.

Services inflation rose to 2.7 per cent from March's 2.4 per cent, due to a pickup in holiday and public road transport costs.

And steeper price increases in non-cooked food and prepared meals led to food inflation of 3.1 per cent, up from 2.9 per cent in March.

Retail-related items also added more to overall inflation in April, MAS and MTI noted. "Notably, clothing and footwear prices rose after four consecutive months of decline," they said.

"Domestic cost pressures, particularly stemming from a tight labour market, are likely to remain the primary source of inflation," said MAS and MTI.

Core inflation is thus expected to stay elevated at 2-3 per cent in 2014, while headline inflation is projected to come in at 1.5-2.5 per cent for the year.

Your Singapore Interest Rate cannot be low for so long. Look at history!

 

CPI ease to 4% in October

Consumer price inflation eased to 4 per cent in October, slowing more than expected from September's inflation rate of 4.7 per cent due to smaller increases in the costs of cars and housing.
Economists polled by Reuters had been expecting a 4.6 per cent rise in the consumer price index (CPI) in October from a year ago.

Private road transport costs rose 8.3 per cent in October from a year earlier, slowing from a 10.8 per cent jump in September, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a joint statement on Friday. Accommodation cost inflation was 6.8 per cent in October, down from 7.7 per cent in September.

The MAS core inflation measure, which excludes costs of accommodation and private road transport, also fell to 2.2 per cent in October from 2.4 per cent in September.

Singapore inflation rises to 4.7% in September

SINGAPORE: Singapore's inflation rate accelerated last month, driven again by housing and transport costs.

Data from the Department of Statistics showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in September rose 4.7 percent from the same month a year ago.
That's up from 3.9% in August, which was the lowest rate in almost two years.
September's inflation rate marks a reversal of price moderations experienced over the last three months.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the pick-up in September was anticipated given the surge in COE prices the previous month.

COE premiums rose 40% on-year to a record average high of S$83,600, pushing private transport costs up 10.8 percent year-on-year following a 6.3 percent increase in August.

Alvin Liew, UOB's senior economist, said: "Currently (inflation is) at 4.7 per cent, I believe that if transport costs or the COE premiums were to spike in some of the months (ahead), it won't be too surprising to see our inflation rate for some of the months going up above 5% again."

Housing cost inflation in September jumped by 7.7 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 7.4 percent rise in the previous month.

Analysts say that while housing and transport costs remain a concern, the increasing price of services, particularly healthcare and education, should also be watched.

Mr Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, said: "In the area of healthcare, due to the medical treatment component, there has been a significant price spike in September...that is more than the trend line in the year as a whole, and in education, to a lesser extent, that is the case as well."

Services inflation inched up to 3 percent in September against a 2.7 percent rise in August, reflecting a stronger pickup in the cost of holiday travel and household services.

Meanwhile, food price inflation eased slightly to 2.1 percent in September, down from a 2.3 percent increase in August.

Analysts say September's elevated inflation rate justifies the MAS' decision last month to leave intact its policy of a modest and gradual appreciation of the Singapore dollar to help dampen inflation.

- CNA/fa/ir

Inflation in July eases to 4% but outlook stays grim

[SINGAPORE] Finally, some relief on the inflation front but with a caveat.

Singapore's headline inflation eased to 4 per cent year on year in July - down from 5.3 per cent in June - on the back of slower increases in the cost of accommodation, private road transport and oil-related items, the government said yesterday. But overall inflation for the year could still surpass expectations if car prices pick up pace, it cautioned.

Core inflation - excluding accommodation and private road transport costs, which together accounted for 60 per cent of July's headline inflation - dipped 0.3 of a percentage point to 2.4 per cent in July.

Core inflation could moderate further by year end, leaving room for the easing of monetary policy against the backdrop of slowing economic growth, economists said.

In July, accommodation cost inflation came in at 7.8 per cent, slowing from 10.8 per cent in June mainly due to the fact that rebates for service and conservancy charges (S&CC) were disbursed to HDB households in June 2011 but not this year, which boosted cost hikes in June.

Singapore March CPI rises 5.2 pct, above expectations

SINGAPORE - Singapore's consumer price index rose 5.2 per cent in March from a year earlier, the government said on Monday, accelerating from February's 4.6 per cent pace due to a jump in car prices.


The central bank's core inflation measure rose 2.9 per cent, slowing from February's 3.0 per cent increase.

Headline inflation "could average around 5 per cent year-on-year in the first half before easing gradually in the second half of 2012," the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in a joint statement.

Accommodation costs will remain the largest contributor to inflation this year as "leasing contracts continue to be renewed at rentals that are considerably higher than those under existing contracts, especially in the HDB segment," they said.

Sign of interest rate picking up???

Maybank iSavvy 12-months FD at 1.18% when I renewed this morning. Last year was at 0.88% if I remembered correctly.