THE consumer price index (CPI) or inflation increased by 5 per cent in March compared to a year ago, according to figures released by the Department of Statistics Singapore on Monday.
Compared to the previous month, the CPI rose by 0.1 per cent.
Transport costs saw the biggest increase with a 13.4 per cent jump on car and petrol prices.
Meanwhile higher accommodation costs and electricity tariffs raised housing costs by 7.1 per cent.
Food prices increased by a modest 2.6 per cent.
Overall, the first quarter of 2011 saw inflation increased by 5.2 per cent compared with the same period of the previous year.
-- ST