SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore' headline inflation rate in January was likely unchanged from a month earlier, while the annual core inflation rate rose slightly, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.
The consumer price index probably rose 0.4 percent in January from a year earlier, the poll of 11 economists showed, unchanged from December's rate.
"Headline CPI is expected to edge up higher (on year) on the back of rising oil prices which have continued to trend upwards in January," economist at Maybank Kim Eng, Lee Ju Ye, said.
The poll also showed that the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) core inflation measure likely increased 1.4 percent from a year earlier in January, compared to a 1.3 percent rise the previous month.
The central bank's core inflation measure excludes changes in the price of cars and accommodation, which are influenced more by government policies.
In its latest policy review in October, the MAS kept its exchange-rate based monetary policy steady but changed a reference to maintaining current settings for an extended period, a shift that analysts said created room for a tightening this year.