Singapore dollar hits 10-year high

The Singaporean currency (SGD) is trading against the USD at its strongest level in almost a decade, touching new highs in recent weeks amid lower US interest rates coupled with investors' confidence in its resilient economy.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is expected to keep a tight policy setting relative to the US Federal Reserve in the near term, enticing investors seeking higher yield. The SGD now ranks as the third-best performer this year among its Asian peers, after the MYR and THB.

As of September 27, SGD had been up 3% this year, at around 1.281 against the USD. The gain began around August in anticipation of a potential rate cut in the US and gathered pace after the Federal Reserve kick-started its rate-cut cycle on September 18.

In August, the Singaporean government raised the growth forecast for the whole year to 2-3% from 1-3% in previous prediction.

The stronger SGD is also a result of a tighter monetary policy by the MAS to fight inflation in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The MAS tightened its monetary policy five times within the span of one year from October 2021 and has maintained an appreciating bias for the currency at its most recent meeting in July to rein in prices.