Singapore December inflation rate rises more than expected

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's headline and core consumer price indexes rose more than expected in December from a year earlier on the back of higher costs of services and retail items, data showed on Wednesday.

Headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.5 percent in December from a year earlier, higher than the 0.4 percent rise expected by economists in a Reuters poll and the 0.3 percent rise in November.

Core inflation gauge in December rose 1.9 percent from a year earlier. The median forecast in a Reuters poll was for a rise of 1.7 percent, unchanged from November.

The central bank's core inflation measure excludes changes in the price of cars and accommodation, which are more influenced by government policies.

For the whole of 2018, the city-state reported all-items inflation at 0.4 percent, lower than the 0.6 percent recorded in 2017.

Core inflation, however, rose to 1.7 percent last year from 1.5 percent in 2017.

(Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)