Singapore's consumer price index (CPI) for general households rose by 0.5 percent in 2005 over the previous year, according to the figures released by the Singapore Department of Statistics (SDS) on Thursday.

The CPI for households in the lowest 20 percent income group increased by 1.3 percent last year from a year ago while that for households in the middle 60 percent income group rose by 0.6 percent.

"Main items contributing to the increase in CPI were dearer food and cigarettes, higher electricity tariffs, as well as costlier petrol and holiday travel," the SDS said in a press release.

The CPI for households in the top 20 percent income group fell by 0.1 percent last year due to "lower car prices and government levy on foreign maids."

Source: Xinhua