SINGAPORE: Singapore has left its monetary policy settings unchanged for a third straight review, but has raised its forecast for inflation in a sign price-pressure risks will remain in focus for its next decision in April.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which uses the exchange rate as its main policy tool rather than interest rates, said yesterday it would keep the slope, width and centre of its policy band unchanged.
Nineteen of 20 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted the decision. The majority said they all expected the MAS to add a hawkish bias on inflation concerns.
The Singapore dollar slightly pared gains after the decision to trade 0.1% higher against the greenback at 1.2620. It has strengthened about 1.9% so far this year.
“The risks to the growth and inflation outlook are tilted to the upside at this point,” the central bank said in a statement.
The MAS, which holds four policy reviews per year, had loosened its settings twice in 2025 – January and April – to help support growth, then stood pat through the rest of last year as the trade-reliant nation largely shrugged off the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught.
The decision comes as central banks globally adopt divergent paths – emerging Asian economies are expected to lower borrowing costs, Japan, Canada and Australia are seen hiking while the eurozone will likely leave rates unchanged.
The US Federal Reserve, meanwhile, may ease settings further after holding rates on Wednesday.
The city-state’s economy expanded 4.8% in 2025, the fastest in four years, helped by artificial intelligence-related demand surge for semiconductors and electronics.
However, authorities have warned that sustaining this pace would be challenging given ongoing geopolitical and US trade policy uncertainties.
“There is no doubt that the next move by MAS is a tightening,” said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research for ANZ.
He expected such a change in July but “an April move is a possibility if we get upside inflation surprises in the coming months.” — Bloomberg
