SINGAPORE'S inflation rate for general households rose marginally by 0.2 per cent last year due mainly to higher cost of food and health care, said the Department of Statistics on Monday.

This was a sharp drop from the 6.5 per cent rise for 2008.

The consumer price index (CPI) for the lowest 20 per cent income group and top 20 per cent rose by 0.4 per cent each, while that for the middle 60 per cent income group edged up by a mere 0.1 per cent.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.

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