{"id":31327,"date":"2026-03-23T09:58:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T09:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/uncategorized\/31327\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T09:58:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T09:58:49","slug":"singapores-annual-consumer-inflation-eased-to-1-2-in-february-slipping-from-the-prior-1-4-rate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/live-updates\/31327\/","title":{"rendered":"Singapore\u2019s annual consumer inflation eased to 1.2% in February, slipping from the prior 1.4% rate"},"content":{"rendered":"Singapore\u2019s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.2% year on year in February. This was down from 1.4% in the previous month.\n\nThe latest figure shows a slower pace of inflation compared with January. The update covers overall consumer price changes in Singapore.\n\n<h3>Inflation Cooling And Policy Implications<\/h3>\nThe recent drop in Singapore&#8217;s inflation to 1.2% for February is a significant development, continuing a cooling trend from last year. This figure, falling below market expectations, signals that price pressures are easing faster than we anticipated. It reduces the immediate need for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to maintain its restrictive policy stance.\n\nWith the next MAS policy meeting scheduled for April 2026, this low inflation print strengthens the case for a dovish shift. We believe the central bank may now consider reducing the slope of the S$NEER policy band, a move they refrained from throughout 2025 due to persistent inflation. This would be the first such easing in over two years, marking a notable change in policy direction.\n\nFor our foreign exchange positions, this outlook suggests a weaker Singapore dollar ahead. We should consider buying USD\/SGD call options with tenors extending past the April meeting to position for a potential upward move in the pair. Current 1-month implied volatility is hovering around a modest 4.8%, making option premiums relatively inexpensive for such a catalytic event.\n\nOn the interest rate front, expectations for lower inflation and a more accommodative MAS should push down short-term rate forecasts. We see value in buying Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA) futures contracts for the third quarter of 2026. This is a direct play on the market repricing a less aggressive interest rate path for the remainder of the year.\n\n<h3>Equities And Risk Asset Positioning<\/h3>\nThis macroeconomic backdrop is also supportive of local equities, as lower borrowing costs benefit corporate earnings. We should look at establishing long positions in Straits Times Index (STI) futures, targeting a potential break above the 3,450 resistance level. The easing inflation provides a favorable environment for risk assets in the near term.\n\n<b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/trade-now\/\">Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.vtmarkets.com\/login\">start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b>\n<p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Start trading now &#8211; Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/trade-now\/\">here<\/a> to create your real VT Markets account <\/strong> <\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:post-content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Singapore CPI increased 1.2% year on year in February, easing from January\u2019s 1.4% amid slower inflation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"josephine","author_link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/author\/josephine\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}