Was market surprised by its own rhetoric?

SO the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) caught the market flat-footed once more, when it confounded most expectations on Tuesday by keeping its policy stance on the Singapore dollar unchanged.

The sharp rally by the Singapore dollar underlined that surprise. Most forecasters expected the MAS to show its hand - a widening of the trading band at least, or even an easing move with a downward recentring. Relatively few thought the central bank would stay put.

That was exactly what it did, maintaining its policy position of a modest and gradual appreciation of the S$NEER (Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate) policy band, with no change to the slope and width of the band, and the level at which it is centred.