Singapore’s central bank kept its currency band settings unchanged in October, while OCBC said the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) in the band’s upper half may constrain the currency’s gains against peers.
On Oct. 14, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) made no adjustment to the band’s appreciation pace, width or midpoint. The S$NEER measures the Singapore dollar against a trade-weighted currency basket. MAS said the gauge had edged higher since July, when it slightly increased the pace of appreciation, and remained in the band’s upper half. The authority said the existing policy setting should counter expected near-term imported inflation and support a gradual easing of price pressures in 2027.
OCBC retained a constructive medium-term outlook for the Singapore dollar. Its Oct. 26 FX Weekly, co-authored by Sim Moh Siong, the bank’s FX strategist for G10 and oil, and Christopher Wong, its FX strategist for Asia and precious metals, named movements in the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields, along with the Chinese yuan, as near-term influences on USD/SGD.
PoundSterlingLive’s daily rate history showed USD/SGD closed at 1.2796 on Oct. 19, 1.2776 on Oct. 20 and 1.2774 on Oct. 21. It reached 1.2773 on Oct. 22 before rebounding to 1.2782 on Oct. 23. The pair quotes Singapore dollars per U.S. dollar. OCBC’s report listed it at 1.2780, with support at 1.2750 and 1.2740 and resistance at 1.2790 and 1.2820.
U.S. Treasury data showed the 10-year yield at 5.09% on Oct. 16 and 5.15% on Oct. 19, before it fell to 4.96% on Oct. 22 and rose to 5.00% on Oct. 23. OCBC attributed USD/SGD’s decline through much of Oct. 19-23 to a weaker U.S. dollar and lower yields.
The Federal Reserve calendar schedules the Federal Open Market Committee meeting for Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 27-28. OCBC expects the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged.
