Inflation expectations drop to 3.5-year low: SMU survey

The latest findings to SMU’s Singapore Index of Inflation Expectations (SInDEx), which polled 500 online consumers in March, revealed that inflation expectations in Singapore have continued to drop, reaching a new 3.5-year low of 3.05 per cent. Domestic and global factors leading to these expectations included persistently weak oil prices accentuated by the uneven global recovery, and exchange rate fluctuations on US rate hike fears. SMU Assistant Professor of Finance (Education) and SInDEx co-creator Aurobindo Ghosh, said that phenomena such as low oil prices and fluctuating exchange rates have had a significant negative impact on expectations of inflation the world over, including the G3 economies and Singapore.