Singapore CPI inflation hits 25-year high of 4.2% in November

This article belongs to the Singapore inflation watch story arc.

channelnewsasia.com :

Singapore's consumer prices rose faster-than-expected in November, underpinned by higher costs for food and housing, said the Department of Statistics on Friday [21 Dec 2007]. The consumer price index - a non-core measure of costs for goods and services - rose 4.2% from a year earlier, after rising 3.6% in October.

Last month, the government raised its inflation forecast for next year to 3.5-4.5%, with a peak at around 5% at the start of 2008. Rising costs of imported goods and a robust real estate market sparked a pickup in inflation late this year, prompting the central bank to tighten monetary policy in October.

Housing costs increased on account of higher rents. Prices for food were higher as a result of more expensive vegetables, bread, and fresh pork. Transport expenses also increased, mainly as a result of more costly gasoline.

- Inflation is taking off worldwide. The major central banks are increasing money supply at double-digit rates. There is nowhere to hide.

Updated :

1. Singapore CPI inflation rate for May 2008 continues at 26-year high of 7.5%
2. Singapore inflation rate hits new 26-year high of 7.5% in Apr 2008
3. Singapore CPI inflation rate hits 6.7% for Mar 2008, fastest in 26 years

(2007-12-27 23:33:58 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

Palm oil gains to record on demand for food, fuel

bloomberg.com :

Palm oil prices in Malaysia, the global benchmark, rose to a record today [26 Dec 2007] as global demand for vegetable oils for food and alternative fuel outstrips supply. Palm oil for March delivery rose as much as 57 ringgit, or 1.9%, to 3,087 ringgit ($924) a ton on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange. Indonesia and Malaysia produce 90% of the world's palm oil, the main substitute for soybean oil.

Soybeans and soybean oil in China, the biggest consumer of the commodity, also soared to records today as traders speculated demand may outpace supplies from government stockpile sales and imports. Soybeans in Chicago reached a 34-year peak and soybean oil the highest for at least 33 years on Dec. 24.

Agricultural products have been among the best-performing commodities this year. Palm oil has gained 56%, soybeans 75% and soybean oil 62%.

(2007-12-27 23:16:13 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

China's pork price rises for 11th week

bloomberg.com :

Pork prices in China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of the meat, rose for an 11th week as demand and higher livestock farming costs thwarted government efforts to boost supply and tame inflation. The wholesale price of pork, a staple in Chinese diets, gained 1.4% to 20.97 yuan ($2.86) a kilogram, up 53% in the past year, according to the Ministry of Commerce website.

The government, concerned about inflation and social stability, has tried to bring down pork prices by selling grain from reserves and subsidizing insurance against pig diseases. Food prices in the world's fastest-growing major economy rose 18.2% in November, spurring a jump to an 11-year high of 6.9% in the consumer price index.

(2007-12-27 23:02:51 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

World's first electric plane makes maiden flight in France

businesstimes.com.sg, english.cri.cn :

A team of French engineers has for the first time ever successfully test-flown an electric plane, Anne Lavrand, who has been at the helm of the project dubbed Electra, said on Sunday [23 Dec 2007]. The aircraft, an 'Electra F-WMDJ, equipped with a 25 HP electric motor and lithium-polymer batteries, conducted a flight of 48 minutes from an airport in Hautes-Alpes', Ms Lavrand said. The plane, created by engineers as part of the Association for the Advancement of Electric Motor-powered Aircraft (APAME), was a single-seater with an unmanned weight of 155kg and a wingspan measuring nine metres.

'This exceptional technological breakthrough in the luxury aviation sector is capable of providing an alternative to the current unprecedented use of heat engines on aircraft that require between 15 and 50 HP,' the engineers, who are working on the project, said in a statement. The team of five people, who worked on the project for a year and a half, received the support of Eurocopter and Capenergies, a group of companies dedicated to the promotion of energy sources free of greenhouse gas.

- The French have got the right attitude. If there is going to be a future, the future will have to be electric.

(2007-12-27 13:39:17 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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