According to the latest findings of the SKBI-MasterCard Singapore Index of Inflation Expectations (SInDEx), consumers expect a headline inflation rate of 3.91 per cent for the year ahead. SMU Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics (SKBI) Programme Director Aurobindo Ghosh pointed out that this may be due to the better-than-expected labour and housing markets in the US due to an earlier tapering of the Federal Reserve's stimulus spending. Furthermore, he added that "Singapore is facing a weakening impact of imported inflation owing to a cyclical slowdown of some of the Asean economies, as well as regional economies like China and India".