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SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's key consumer price gauge rose 2.5% in July from a year earlier, the smallest increase since February 2022, official data showed on Friday.

The core inflation rate - which excludes private road transport and accommodation costs - was lower than a 2.9% forecast in a Reuters poll, and compared with the 2.9% seen in June.

It was the smallest annual increase in the core price index since February 2022, when it rose 2.2%.

Headline inflation in February was up 2.4% from the same month last year, lower than the 2.5% forecast in the poll. It was the lowest headline inflation rate since August 2021.

Inflation in the Asian financial hub has cooled from a peak of 5.5% in early 2023, but only dropped below 3% in June.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore expects core inflation to ease more significantly in the final quarter of this year. It has forecast core inflation at 2.5% to 3.5% this year.

Last week, the trade ministry adjusted its GDP growth forecast range for 2024 to 2.0% to 3.0%, from 1.0% to 3.0% previously after the economy posted stronger-than-expected second quarter growth.