Andrew Robinson, correspondent for Saxo Capital Markets, looks at the development of inflation in Singapore, and how, following the release of recent meeting minutes, the Reserve Bank of Australia still finds itself between a rock and a hard place when it comes to tightening monetary policy.
In Singapore, where most inflation is imported, price upticks in May were mainly the result of food and transportation cost increases but are on the whole seen by authorities as mainly transient causes.

Meanwhile, minutes from the last meeting of Australia’s central bank, the RBA, indicated it is in no hurry to raise rates, although it is still looking to push them higher to put a damper on inflationary pressures due to the boom in mining exports.

Looking ahead concerning data next week, PMI figures for China and Australia and a CPI report from Japan are the main attractions.