Economists at Standard Chartered express their view on the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) monetary policy decision announced on Friday.

Key quotes

“The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) kept its policy unchanged, with no change to the slope, centre and width of the SGD NEER policy band (which we estimate at +1.5% per annum). This is in line with our expectation and consensus.”

“The MAS signalled that it is prepared to keep policy tight for longer, similar to the higher for longer assessment for global central banks.“

“In MAS words, the current stance is “sufficiently tight” and a “sustained appreciation” is needed. The key takeaway is that this may mean an extended pause, but with a slight bias towards further tightening, if needed, rather than loosening, in our view. Currently, we expect the MAS to keep policy unchanged come January.”