“While we continue to expect the MAS to refrain from adjusting FX policy through 2025, the risk of a 50 basis-point slope increase has risen,” Brian Tan, senior regional Asean economist at Barclays Bank Plc in Singapore wrote in a client note last week, citing core inflation that’s “proving to be stickier than its historical average.”
The Singapore dollar beat out all its Asian counterparts in each of the past two years. The chance of leading the region for a third straight year rests with the central bank.
The currency gained 1.5% in 2023 as the Monetary Authority of Singapore kept its policy band with an appreciating bias at both its April and October meetings to counter inflation. Economists predict the MAS will maintain that setting again this year, with some even anticipating further tightening if inflation proves intractable.
