The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will reduce the slope of its Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) policy band “slightly”, while there will be no change to the width of the band or at the level at which it is centred. This is the first time the central bank has eased its policy since March 2020.
The decision, which was announced in MAS’s monetary policy statement (MPS) on Jan 24, comes after the Singapore dollar (SGD) eased against the US dollar (USD) amid the latter’s broad-based strength. That said, the SGD continued to appreciate against other currencies within the S$NEER basket within the same period. The S$NEER remains within the gradually rising policy band, MAS adds.
