Singapore's annual inflation rate surprisingly slowed in March despite a rapid rebound in economic growth that has prompted the central bank to try to nip price pressures in the bud.
The government said on Friday that consumer prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent from February, in line with expectations.
But the year-on-year rate fell to 1.3 percent, confounding forecasts by economists that it would match February's 33-month high of 1.5 percent.
Chia-Liang Lian, an economist with JP Morgan Chase, said inflation was likely to pick up in coming months because of Singapore's recovery and the impact of higher commodity prices on services.