SINGAPORE (Reuters – Singapore’s main consumer price indicator rose at an unprecedented pace in March. It surpassed economist expectations and was driven by higher prices for food, services, and other items, as official data revealed on Monday.

The core inflation rate — the central bank’s favoured price measure – rose to 2.9% in March on a year-on-year basis, the highest since March 2012. According to Reuters, economists expected a 2.4% rise.

The headline inflation rate rose to 5.4% in May 2012, which is faster than the 4.7% forecast by economists.

The central bank of Singapore tightened its monetary policy in March, making it a double-barrel move as Singapore intensified its fight against rising prices, made worse by global supply issues and the conflict with Ukraine.