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.