today, the singapore department of statistics released the consumer price index data for november 2011 and it came in at 5.7% year on year, much higher than the consensus forecast of 5.3%.
i reckon the higher inflation figure could have been influenced with transportation prices being spiked by the higher certificate of entitlement premiums and petrol prices remaining high and ditto for housing costs which include higher rents and power tariffs.
with the government's policy of restricting the vehicle population, there have been a reduction in the number of certificates of entitlement available compounded by fewer cars being scrapped which led to more intense bidding in order to secure COEs and therefore, saw an escalation in the premiums paid.
my comments:
with the monetary authority of singapore forecasting gdp growth in 2012 to slow to the range of 1% to 3%(from an expected 5.1% this year), the good news is our consumer price index is expected to moderate to 2.5% to 3.5% in the new year, which is also our government's forecast.
but on the flip side of the coin, our savings and fixed deposit rates will continue to stay low and net negative real returns and in a slowing economy, every cent counts.
therefore, surplus cash should not all be left in these traditional channels to earn meagre returns, although a financial planner will always recommend at least 6 to 12 months of emergency funds stay highly liquid.
but over and above these, the question to ask is; where are u parking your excess funds?
I am parking my excess funds in dividend stocks such as Starhub, Singtel, M1, SPH and REITs.
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