Singaporean officials said today that the rising trend in the forecast for the 2010 consumer price index was not because of any increase in the underlying inflation, but on the pending rise of the property tax.
Singapore revised its 2010 inflation forecast from an earlier projection of 1 to 2 percent to a range of 2.5 to 3.5 percent, citing an escalation in the property tax that will take effect in 2010.
“There has not been any significant change in our assessment of underlying cost and price pressures in the economy from the time of the monetary policy statement release in October,” said Ong Chong Tee, deputy managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.