Sibor up again, at 0.786%, more than double last year's rate

THE key 3-month Sibor's (Singapore interbank offered rate) relentless climb has pushed it to more than double last year's rate, as the US dollar continues to rally.

On Monday, the 3-month Sibor rose to 0.786 per cent, 102 per cent more than the 0.389 per cent low in Feb 21, 2014.

The last time the key interest rate, which is used to price home loans, was seen at these levels was in January 2009.

The Singapore dollar continued to weaken against the US dollar, and on Monday it fell to S$1.364; the last time it was this low was in August 2010.

It was at S$1.32 in the beginning of 2015.

According to a Bloomberg report last Thursday, the currency has lost 7.3 per cent against the greenback in the past six months, the third-worst performance among major South-east Asian economies, and advanced against the euro, yen and the ringgit.