SGD down 1% following stronger than expected US jobs number

THE Singapore dollar fell a sharp one per cent on Monday against the greenback following stronger than expected US monthly jobs number.

The SGD was quoted at S$1.3615 at 5.42pm, off an earlier low of S$1.3634. It stood at S$1.3484 last Friday before the US markets opened.

The dollar rose against 13 of the world's 16 major currencies on Friday after data showed US employers created 280,000 positions in May, the most in five months, reported Bloomberg.

The US dollar bounce against most currencies was a given, though the SGD's rather big decline was also due to pressure from the Malaysian ringgit.

"The (USD) jump was largely due to the NFP (non-farm payrolls) and dollar move," said Saktiandi Supaat, Maybank head of FX research.

"The SGD move today (intraday) was only around 0.3 per cent weaker which is generally lower than other currencies such as the ringgit which moved around 0.5 per cent today," he added.

"We're feeling the heat from the ringgit, Malaysia's one of our biggest trading partners," said Philip Wee, DBS Bank senior currency economist.

The SGD is managed against a trade-weighted basket of currencies and so its level would be affected by the movements of the currencies in the basket.

The ringgit slid to a nine-year low against the USD. It weakened 1.3 per cent to 3.7682 versus the greenback as of 1.16pm in Kuala Lumpur, the biggest drop in Asia, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The ringgit has also fallen sharply against the SGD, and it's into 'uncharted territory", said Maybank's Mr Supaat.

It was quoted at 2.7691 against the SGD, from 2.7596 last Friday.

Year to date the ringgit is down 4.6 per cent against SGD, he said. On Dec 1, 2014, it broke the 2.60 level.