Singapore dollar tipped to strengthen even as MAS waits to tighten monetary policy

SINGAPORE'S central bank has left the door open to policy normalisation at its next half-yearly review in October, as economic growth picks up.

But analysts expect the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to welcome a mild appreciation of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) by the market - regardless of whether policy settings are tweaked this year or next April.

To be sure, policy tightening remains unlikely this year, after the MAS said on Wednesday: "As core inflation is expected to stay low this year, MAS assesses that an accommodative policy stance remains appropriate."