The Business Times

Singapore dollar falls most in 7 months on UK vote results

Published Fri, Jun 24, 2016 · 03:23 AM

[SINGAPORE] Singapore's dollar fell, set for the biggest drop in seven months, as early results from the UK referendum showed it was too close to call whether Britons have chosen to leave or stay in the European Union.

The local dollar slumped one per cent to S$1.3504 versus the greenback as of 10:19 am Friday in Singapore, the biggest drop since Nov 6 on a closing basis, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg.

Sterling plunged as much as 5.9 per cent. The city-state's bonds were little changed, with the yield on benchmark 10-year note at 2.03 per cent. The rate has fallen 21 basis points this month.

"The Singapore dollar depreciated when sterling was falling," said Philip Wee, senior currency economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd in Singapore.

"Generally, Brexit means a weaker global outlook."

Singapore's currency has gained 5 per cent against the greenback this year, the best performance after the yen and Malaysian ringgit in Asia. It reached S$1.3313 on Thursday, the strongest level since June 22, 2015.

The currency has benefited from haven demand as the city-state enjoys the highest credit rating and a large current-account surplus, according to Khoon Goh, head of Asia research in Singapore at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.

BLOOMBERG

For more coverage of the EU referendum, visit bt.sg/BrexiT

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