SINGAPORE: Singapore's January headline inflation rate turned positive for the first time in nearly a year due to a smaller decline in services costs, as well as larger increases in private transport and accommodation costs, official data showed on Tuesday.

All items inflation rose to 0.2% from a year earlier, data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the trade ministry showed, the first positive reading since February 2020. Economists had forecast a 0.15% rise in a Reuters poll.

The core inflation measure of the Monetary Authority of Singapore also picked up slightly, but was still down 0.2%, matching economists forecasts.