SINGAPORE--Singapore consumer prices fell at a faster-than-expected pace in April, amid a continued fall in housing and transportation costs that was accentuated by lower global energy prices. The consumer price index for April fell 0.5% from a year earlier, compared with the median expectation for a 0.1% decline based on a Dow Jones Newswires poll of five economists. In March, Singapore's CPI fell 0.3%. The cost of oil-related items fell by 11.7% in April, following a 7.9% decrease the month before, as electricity tariffs were cut further due to lower global oil prices, according to a joint statement from the government and central bank. Housing and utilities costs, which make up 26.3% of the index, fell 3.7% due to lower accommodation costs and also a 10.4% reduction in electricity tariffs. The cost of transportation, which has an index weighting of 15.8, fell 1.4% in April, while food prices, which have a 21.7% weighting in the index, rose 2.1%. The central bank's core inflation measure, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transportation, came in at 0.4% in April with 1% in the previous month. This mainly reflected lower electricity tariffs and services inflation, according to the statement. Write to Gaurav Raghuvanshi at gaurav.raghuvanshi@wsj.com

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