SINGAPORE’S dollar advanced to its strongest in almost a decade as traders weighed the difference between the local monetary authority’s relatively hawkish policy outlook compared with that of the Federal Reserve.
The local dollar hit levels last seen in 2014 against the greenback late Friday (Aug 23), and fluctuated around 1.30 per US dollar in early trading on Monday. Singapore’s currency has gained about 1.5 per cent this year, the second-best performer in Asia behind Malaysia’s ringgit.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore, which uses the exchange rate as its main monetary policy tool, maintained an appreciating bias for the currency at its July meeting to rein in inflation. Fed chair Jerome Powell all but confirmed that interest-rate cuts are coming to the US next month, speaking at the central bank’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Singapore’s government upgraded this year’s growth forecast in July to a range of between 2 per cent and 3 per cent, from an earlier band of 1 to 3 per cent, citing a resilient external demand outlook. An expanding economy may help underpin further currency gains. BLOOMBERG
