Singapore inflation quickens to 4-month high
SINGAPORE, May 23 (AP/UNB) - Singapore says its inflation rate rose to a fourth-month high in April as housing and transport costs soared.
The central bank said in a statement Wednesday that the consumer price index increased 5.4 percent in April from a year earlier, up from 5.2 percent in March.
The bank said housing costs jumped 11 percent while transport prices gained 7.5 percent.
The bank said the inflation rate will likely average about 5 percent in the first half before gradually falling in the second half. The bank reiterated its 2012 inflation forecast of between 3.5 percent and 4.5 percent.
Inflation has quickened this year despite a slowing economy.
The government expects the economy to grow as little as 1 percent this year from 4.9 percent last year.
