Singapore's inflation in April tumbled to its lowest level in three years, as consumers paid less for cars and benefited from rebates for HDB service and conservancy charges (S&CC).

Inflation came in at 1.5 per cent in April, down from 3.5 per cent in March, said the Department of Statistics on Thursday.

This is the lowest monthly reading since February 2010 and well below the 4 to 5 per cent average inflation over the last three years.

The moderation in price rises was largely due to lower Certificate of Entitlement premiums and price adjustments by car dealers, after the Government introduced car loan curbs and other measures to temper car prices earlier this year, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Trade and Industry Ministry.

As a result, the cost of private transport rose by only 0.5 per cent in April over a year ago, significantly less than the 8.6 per cent increase in March.

Accommodation cost inflation also slowed to 2.4 per cent in April from 5.8 per cent in March, due to the disbursement of S&CC rebates for HDB households.

Food inflation was stable at 1.8 per cent in April.