Singapore consumers expect inflation to edge down as the global economy weakens, says the latest SKBI-MasterCard Singapore Index of Inflation Expectations report. The report, produced by the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics (SKBI) at SMU and sponsored by MasterCard, shows that consumers expect headline inflation of 4.37 per cent this year, down from last September's expectation of 4.57 per cent inflation in the year ahead. This also falls within the official inflation forecast range of 3.5 to 4.5 per cent for 2013. SKBI Programme Director Aurobindo Ghosh and SKBI Director Yu Jun, who developed the index, wrote in their latest report that the index's performance over the past year suggests that inflation expectations in Singapore are quite responsive to policymakers' statements but do not react excessively to short-term fluctuations in food and oil prices.