Singapore shares likely to fall further

Singapore share prices are expected to fall further on concerns that soaring inflation and soaring oil prices would curtail economic growth, analysts said. Singapore's annual inflation rate rose to a new 26-year high of 7.5 percent in April as food, housing and transportation costs surged and is now a risk to the economy, the government said Friday.
It said April's inflation rate is the highest since February 1982, when it stood at 9.0 percent. Chan Tuck Sing, dealing director at UOB Kay Hian, said he expects the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) to fall 100 points next week, finding support at 3,030 or 3,050 points.
"I think rising inflation is actually already something that is ingrained into investors' thinking," said Chan. "I don't think it came as a shock to anybody." Economists agree rising inflation will mean slower economic activity. "The key risk right now is inflation. I think it is going to be challenging for Singapore in the next two quarters," said Irvin Seah, economist at DBS Bank.