Singapore Petrol Prices Hit All Time High
By Gregory X • Apr 26th, 2008 • Category: Features, ThrottleZine
Owning private transport is proving to be a financial strain for drivers and riders in Singapore. Between perpetually rising ERP prices, road taxes, and oil prices, vehicle owners are hard hit.
Which is why I found this cartoon particularly funny and appropriate.
What measures do you take to combat rising prices? Do share with us!
Singapore’s March Inflation Accelerates to Fastest in 26 Years
By Shamim AdamApril 23 (Bloomberg) — Singapore’s inflation accelerated in March to the fastest pace in 26 years, adding support to the central bank’s decision this month to allow the currency to strengthen further.
The consumer price index jumped 6.7 percent from a year earlier, after gaining 6.5 percent in February, the Department of Statistics said today. Economists had estimated a 6.8 percent increase. Prices fell 0.1 percent from February.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore in its twice-yearly review of the exchange rate on April 10 unexpectedly targeted a stronger trading range for the currency. The appreciation of the Singapore dollar, which has risen to an all-time high versus the U.S. currency, is helping reduce import costs as food and energy prices climb.
“The uptrend in inflation is still very much intact and it is a validation of the central bank’s policy,” said Vishnu Varathan, a regional economist at Forecast Singapore Pte. “Oil prices have not abated and food prices are on the rise.”
The Singapore dollar has gained 6.7 percent this year. The central bank, which previously sought a “gradual and modest” strengthening, this month allowed a stronger currency through a surprise “upward shift” in the policy band.
The monetary authority expects 2008 inflation to average at the “upper half” of its forecast range of between 4.5 percent and 5.5 percent, after prices gained 2.1 percent last year.
Food Prices
Food prices, which make up 23 percent of the index, rose 7.6 percent in March from a year ago, following February’s 6.7 percent increase. From February, food prices dropped 0.2 percent.
The price of rice, corn, wheat and soybeans have all reached records this year, spurred by competing demands from the animal-feed, food and biofuels industries while stockpiles dwindle. Singapore’s government is distributing cash and food vouchers to its citizens as part of fiscal measures to boost the economy and ease the burden of rising prices.
Transport and communication costs, the second-biggest component at 22 percent of the consumer price index, climbed 7.9 percent in March from a year earlier. From February, transport and communication prices fell 0.2 percent.
Oil prices at record highs are increasing fuel and transport costs for consumers. The Singapore government doesn’t subsidize pump prices, leading petrol companies to pass on the rising gasoline and diesel costs to car owners.
Housing costs, the third-largest component of the price index, climbed 8.1 percent from a year earlier. From the previous month, housing prices dropped 0.7 percent.
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Gregory X is your typical Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde when it comes to motorcycles. In the day, he sees himself as a combination of Peter Parker and Clarke Kent -- soft-spoken, awkward with the women, and with a quiet passion for photojournalism. But put him in the saddle of a motorbike, and he transforms into the local superhero, more than happy to blip the throttle and flip the birdie at road bullies.
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