SINGAPORE — The Monetary Authority of Singapore maintained its monetary policy unchanged in a surprise move on Friday.
The central bank said it will keep the prevailing rate of appreciation of the SGD NEER policy band, as the current path of appreciation is sufficiently tight and appropriate for achieving medium-term price stability.
Most of the economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected the MAS to tighten its policy.
There will be no change to the width and the level at which the policy band is centered, a policy stance that will continue to reduce imported inflation and help curb domestic cost pressures, the central bank said.
The MAS’s monetary policy is centered on Singapore’s exchange rate, which it considers an effective tool for maintaining price stability in the small and open economy.