MAS expected to stick to rising stance on Sing$

[SINGAPORE] The Republic's central bank is widely expected to keep the Singapore dollar on its rising path next Monday even as growth is expected to slow - a decision which would reiterate that keeping inflation in check is the chief priority behind the twice-yearly monetary policy review.

The strong consensus among market economists is that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will keep the appreciating stance of the Singapore dollar and announce no change to the slope, width and midpoint of the band within which the Singapore dollar is allowed to move, in its policy statement due on Monday.

That same morning, advance GDP figures for Q3 are expected to show that the Singapore economy shrank an annualised 4.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter last quarter - after a 15.6 per cent surge in Q2. This is the median forecast of 12 economis…