alleviate labour shortages in sectors such as health & social services and transport & storage. labour demand is easing, especially in sectors most exposed to slower global demand such as manufacturing and ict services. easing in labour market tightness should mitigate wage pressures. three, the pace of cost pass - through into prices should moderate as the strength of domestic demand wanes. core inflation is expected to end the year significantly lower, at 2. 5 – 3. 0 % yearon - year. in mas'april monetary policy statement, we had said that core inflation would end the year at around 2. 5 % year - on - year. we have applied a small range above this, to reflect the potential impact of stronger than expected outturns in some travel - related cpi components, such as airfares and holiday expenses. excluding the impact of the gst hike, year - end core inflation would be closer to 2 %. for the year as a whole, core inflation is forecast at 3. 5 – 4. 5 % but this reflects mostly higher inflation in the first half that is behind us. mas is lowering the forecast range for cpi - all items inflation to 4. 5 – 5. 5 % for 2023, down from 5. 5 – 6. 5 % previously. the downgrade reflects the sharper - than - expected decline in inflation in car prices and accommodation costs in the first five months of the year. the announced increases in the supply of rental units and certificates of entitlement ( coes ) should help secure a moderating inflation profile in these components in the year ahead. the relatively benign inflation outlook is of course premised on no new shocks to global supply and no reversal in domestic wage momentum. mas'monetary policy has been proactive and progressive, positioning the economy well in light of shifts in the balance of risks between growth and inflation. being proactive in tightening monetary policy has allowed us to keep pace with an accelerating inflation momentum. we began tightening monetary policy in october 2021 when core inflation averaged just 1. 1 % in the preceding quarter. we did not foresee the war in ukraine or the surge in global food and energy prices but we assessed that inflation was beginning to climb in the aftermath of the pandemic and sought to position monetary policy more appropriately. starting early has allowed us to take a pause – as we did in april 2023 – to monitor how the singapore economy evolves and assess whether the disinflation trend continues. 3 / 16

ravi menon : budget carefully, borrow responsibly, invest wisely remarks by mr ravi menon, managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, at the launch of the tamil financial literacy guide, singapore, 16 november 2014. * * * mr kumaran barathan, ceo of sinda ladies and gentlemen, good morning. value of patience and prudence in the 1960s and 1970s, a psychology professor at stanford university in the us conducted a study on children ’ s behaviour. he offered each child a choice : get a marshmallow immediately or, if they waited a little longer, get two marshmallows. some children did not want to wait, or perhaps they had doubts about the professor keeping his word. so, they chose to have their sweet there and then. others were more patient and received two marshmallows, as promised. fast forward 20 years. follow - up studies were done on the same group of children. those children who had chosen to delay getting their marshmallow generally performed better in their lives. they achieved better test results in school, for example. and yes, they kept themselves in better shape too! the results have intrigued psychologists, social scientists, and educators ever since. many more studies are being conducted and more elaborate theories are being proposed to explain them. but maybe our forefathers knew the answer all along : the value of patience and prudence ; in other words, delay rewards today so that we can reap greater rewards tomorrow. does that not offer a recipe for success in so many areas of our lives? we tell our children to play less and study more, so that they can acquire the education necessary to lead productive and comfortable lives in future. we tell ourselves to eat less and exercise more, so that we can keep in good health for a longer time and continue to enjoy good food. should it be any different in matters financial? what does it mean to be patient and prudent in finance? three things. budget carefully borrow responsibly invest wisely these are the three areas that moneysense – our national financial education programme – will focus on increasingly. moneysense – spearheaded by mas and involving a number of government agencies – has been working in partnership with the financial industry, education institutes, and professional and consumer associations to help empower singaporeans to manage their finances well. bis central bankers ’ speeches budget carefully let me start with budgeting – the first area of focus. the financial questions we face in