Singapore Sept headline CPI falls 0.2 pct y/y, down for 23rd month

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's headline consumer price index fell in September from a year earlier, dragged down by a decline in the cost of housing, while core inflation unexpectedly slowed to a five-month low, data showed on Monday. The all-items consumer price index (CPI) in September declined 0.2 percent from a year earlier, after falling 0.3 percent in August. It marked 23 straight months of decline in the index. The median forecast in a Reuters poll was a drop of 0.2 percent. Singapore's core CPI rose 0.9 percent in September from a year earlier, the smallest rise since a 0.8 percent increase recorded in April. The median forecast was a rise of 1.0 percent. (Reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)