2.  Changes in the number of buyers led to an increase in demand for masks
Support from key sources:
- China emerged as the world’s largest producer and exporter of masks over the past few years. The production of masks in normal years account for nearly 50 per cent of the global output, 70% of which is for export
- the country's recent mask production has increased ten folds to 120 million per day as the region has registered a corona positive patient count that has hit nearly 500 thousand
- Despite this, the global supply and demand gap of masks still cannot be alleviated. 
- The daily production output of masks in China has been massively growing. The daily output of ordinary masks, medical masks, and medical N95 masks in China has reached 110 million, 116 million, 5.2 times and 12 times of the level as on February 1, respectively, immensely influencing the contraction between supply and demand of these masks. While the N95 masks have increased by 16 times since Feb 1 
- The everyday output of face masks in China registered a valuation of 20 million,
- The annual output of masks in China in 2018 was 4.5 billion while in 2019 it was 5 billion. Now with a 330-day production duration, the daily output is likely to be 15 million.

3. Changes to the number of sellers led to the increase in supply for masks
Support from key sources:
- Many local SMEs have established mask manufacturing facilities in Singapore ever since the pandemic, increasing the number of sellers, which has increased local production capacity.
- Government agencies such as the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, the Economic Development Board and Enterprise Singapore have also been advising companies on setting up manufacturing facilities and many are thinking long-term for mask production.

4. Changes in resource price led to a decrease in supply for masks

Support from key sources:
- Both the masks made for medical personnel and for consumer purchase require a once-obscure material called melt-blown fabric. It's an extremely fine mesh of synthetic polymer fibres that forms the critical inner filtration layer of a mask, allowing the wearer to breathe while reducing the inflow of possible infectious particles.
- We're talking about fibres where one filament has a diameter of less than one micron, so we are in the nano area
- The machines are not easy to make because of the exacting precision required
- You need to stretch these fibres by hot air, and [the air] needs to be in perfect condition over the width of the machine. The biggest dilemma is that many of the machines are not producing consistent quality.
- Before the outbreak, the going price for one ton of melt-blown fabric in China was under 6,000 dollars a ton. But now, it's about 60,000 dollars
- Chinese firms make nearly three million tons of nonwoven fabric a year, Less than 1% of that is melt-blown fabric

5. Demand for masks is price inelastic (buyers respond minimally to the change in price for masks) as masks are a necessity

Support from key sources:
- Mask is a necessity for Singaporeans during the period of Covid-19 in order for them to protect themselves from the virus and it is also compulsory to wear a mask in Singapore.
- Before the Covid-19, a box of 50 surgical masks ranged between $5 and $7. However, the price of the masks has now gone up to between $12.50 and $15 per box.
- Ever since the Covid-19 hits Singapore, the demand for masks has increased expeditiously, causing them to go out of stock, despite the increase in the price of the masks.

2. Overview of Inflation in Singapore: High economic growth and low inflation
Support from key sources:
-   CPI-All Items Inflation of 2.7% per annum between 1965-2016
-  MAS Core Inflation averaged 1.4% between 1984 and 2016.
-  While inflation  in emerging and developing countries is 22.6% per annum and 4.5% per annum in advanced economies since 1969
STAGFLATION- 1973-1974
- first oil crisis hit in late 1973 with a quadrupling of oil prices
- Singapore’s imported inflation surged and CPI-All Items Inflation rose to nearly 30% in the first half of 1974
- global economy was headed for a slowdown
-SG faced stagflation: high inflation but low growth
 Recession and Recovery: 1985–87
-1985: SG faced first post-independence economic recession
-Govt implemented  a package of cost and tax-cutting measures to help restore Singapore’s international competitiveness and boost exports. 

 Asian Financial Crisis: 1997–98
- precipitated by the sharp devaluation of the Thai baht in July 1997
- Singapore’s real GDP fell by 2.2% in 1998, from an average growth rate of 9.1% in the previous five years, the CPI contracted by 0.3%
 Global Electronics Downturn and SARS: 2001–03
- A sharp downturn in the global electronics cycle caused domestic real GDP to contract by 1.0% in 2001 and CPI-All Items Inflation to fall to −0.4% in 2002.
- Singapore economy was subsequently hit by the outbreak of SARS in Q2 2003,  CPI All Items Inflation falling to 0.1%
Demand-led Price Pressures and the Global Financial Crisis: 2007–09
- Singapore economy entered a phase of robust GDP growth of close to 9% per annum in 2006–2008, alongside a prospering global economy.
- , CPI-All Items inflation accelerated in the second half of 2007 to 6.6% in 2008, the highest since the oil price shock in the early 1980s.
-Collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 triggered global financial crisis, but inflation was eased in 2009.
Global Disinflation: 2015–16
-due to hesitant and uneven recovery in the global economy following the financial crisis
- significantly exacerbated by the sharp declines in global oil prices that took place in late 2014 and 2015
- Singapore’s CPI All Items Inflation was negative for a total of seven consecutive quarters from Q1 2015 to Q3 2016,
- MAS Core Inflation remained subdued at an average of 0.7% in 2015–2016.

3.  Increasing Unemployment Rates in 2020               
Support from key sources:
- As of October, the overall and citizen unemployment rates were 3.6% and 4.9% for respectively 

- Resident unemployment has also increased from 4.7% to 4.8%.
Cyclical Unemployment
- Construction and manufacturing sectors saw the largest contraction in employment in Q3 2020 at 16,700 and 15,000 respectively, caused by a decline in foreign employment
- Retrenchments have increased by 9,120 in Q3 2020, as compared to 8,130 in the Q2 2020, exceeding all past recessionary peaks other than that for the 2009 Global Financial Crisis
Increasing Labour Force 

- Resident unemployment rate grew as the resident employment increased
- This reflects retrenched workers actively looking for work
- As the economy is improving, the labour market is also improving, and more people would want to come back to the labour force to look for work 
Government Measures to Reduce Unemployment
- The Government has put in place measures over four Budgets to support workers and help businesses to retain their employees during the Covid-19 pandemic.
-  Under the SGUnited Jobs & Skills Package, the Government aims to create about 100,000 jobs, traineeships and skills training opportunities to help Singaporeans to gain access to more employment opportunities and also acquire job-related skills and capabilities.
(Other measures will be included in the report writing)

4. Economic growth
-GDP growth rate = -3.47% (Negative growth rates)

-Recession due to COVID-19

-V shape recovery

5.  Singapore Core Inflation fall into Negative Territory in 2020
-Singapore's main price gauge slipped into deflation for the first time in more than a decade in February 2020
-Prices fell 0.1 per cent from a year earlier, according to a joint release by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI)
-Singapore's headline consumer price index rose 0.3 per cent from a year earlier, slightly below poll expectations of 0.35 per cent. 
-Private transport inflation was lower in February at 2.4 per cent year-on-year from 4.6 per cent in the previous month. This was due to a smaller increase in car and petrol prices. 
-Food inflation edged down by 0.1 per cent from 1.7 per cent in January as the prices of prepared meals recorded smaller increased while non‐cooked food inflation was broadly unchanged.
-The cost of electricity and gas fell at a slower pace to -7.4 per cent year-on-year in February 
-The cost of retail and other goods fell at a more gradual pace to -1.0 per cent in February from the -1.4 per cent in January