Oil, Not El Niño, Is Driving Singapore Inflation: ING Macro Analysis

Key Takeaways

• 1.Singapore headline CPI rose to 2.3% YoY in August while core inflation increased to 2.2% YoY, primarily pushed up by energy costs and pass-through into transport and services.
• 2.There is still little evidence of a major El Niño food shock, though vegetable prices have picked up to 4.2% YoY.
• 3.Upside inflation risks from global energy, potential food import costs, and resilient domestic demand from AI and data centres keep the October MAS policy meeting live for further tightening.

Table of Contents

• Energy remains the main inflation story
• Upside inflation risks keep October MAS meeting live

Report data

Singapore's city centre

Reports in this series

Snap is shown in chronological order through this edition, published on September 23, 2026.

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