S'pore posts minus inflation

S'pore posts minus inflation

SINGAPORE (AFP): Recession-hit Singapore slipped into negative inflation in 1998 for the first time in 12 years, the government said Saturday.

The consumer prices index last year fell by 0.3 percent from 1997 largely due to lower costs of transport and communication and cheaper clothing, the department of statistics said in a statement.

This was the first annual decline since 1986 when the index posted a fall of 1.4 percent, it said.

The index -- the most widely used indicator of inflation for consumption expenditure -- in December was 1.5 percent lower compared to the same month a year ago, the statement said.

December's fall was the seventh straight month in which consumer prices had dropped here.