Economists not ruling out further tightening by MAS in April despite surprise off-cycle move

AFTER a surprise off-cycle policy tightening on Tuesday (Jan 25), the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) could still make further moves in April, say economists - not least as it has also raised its inflation estimates for 2022.

Most economists had expected some form of tightening after Monday's news that December's core inflation had reached a 7-year high. What they did not expect was that the central bank would swing to action the very next day.

An hour before the market opened, MAS made a "pre-emptive adjustment" to slightly steepen the Singapore dollar nominal exchange rate (S$NEER) band, allowing faster appreciation to contain inflationary pressures. A strong Singapore dollar (SGD) makes imports cheaper, and dampens demand for exports by making them more expensive.