Singapore May headline CPI falls 1.6 percent; falls more than expected

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's headline consumer price index fell more than expected in May on a year-on-year basis, dragged down by lower accommodation costs, official data showed on Thursday. The all-items consumer price index (CPI) fell 1.6 percent from a year earlier, after falling 0.5 percent in April. The median in a Reuters survey was for a decline of 0.8 percent in May. Singapore's core inflation gauge rose 1.0 percent in May from a year earlier, after rising 0.8 percent in April, and was below the median forecast for a 1.2 percent increase. (Reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)