THE Singapore dollar hit another all-time high against the
greenback yesterday, after the Monetary Authority of Singapore
(MAS) announced a one-off hike in the domestic currency to combat
strong inflation.
In its latest monetary policy review, which is conducted twice a
year, the MAS said it had raised the band within which the
Singdollar trades in the market.
This was less aggressive than recent MAS moves to strengthen the
currency.
A stronger Singdollar makes imports cheaper, helping to mitigate
the rising global prices of the many goods and services that
Singapore imports.
Unlike in recent policy reviews, the MAS made no change to the
width of the trading band - which gives the currency more or less
freedom to fluctuate - or to its slope, which determines how
rapidly the Singdollar appreciates.
The decision to move the whole band higher instead comes as the
central bank warned that inflation is expected to stay elevated for
most of this year, on the back of a bustling economy.
-- ST