China Holds Loan Prime Rates Steady in January as Market Expectations Align 
Japan Declines Comment on BOJ’s Absence From Global Support Statement for Fed Chair Powell. Source: Asturio Cantabrio, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
MAS Holds Monetary Policy Steady as Strong Growth Raises Inflation Risks 
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RBA Expected to Raise Interest Rates by 25 Basis Points in February, ANZ Forecast Says 
Earlier this week, MAS lowered its headline inflation forecast for Singapore for 2016 to -1 to 0% but kept the core CPI outlook unchanged at -0.5 to 0.5%. At its policy meeting scheduled in mid-April the Monetary Authority of Singapore is widely expected to stick to the status quo but the bias for USD-SGD is still tilted to the upside.
Singapore final Q4 GDP came in at 1.8% y/y compared to the advance estimate of 2%. The main drag came from the manufacturing sector which was revised down to -6.7% y/y vs -6% originally, owing to the weak December industrial production. Despite Q4 growth being revised down to 2.8% from 3.2% originally, services sector provided the main source of growth.
For 2016, the government maintained its conservative 1-3% projection. The key headwinds for the economy in 2016 remain 1) the slowdown in China; and 2) low oil prices. As such, growth is likely to remain mediocre around 2% this year.
