MAS keeps monetary policy unchanged

Before that, it eased monetary policy twice – in January and April – to support growth on the back of tariff concerns. The MAS holds four policy reviews a year.

Noting that it had made two easing moves this year, the MAS said Singapore’s economic growth “has turned out stronger than expected and the output gap will remain positive in 2025 and come in around 0 per cent next year”.

It also expects core inflation to “trough in the near term” before rising gradually over the course of 2026.

“MAS is in an appropriate position to respond effectively to any risk to medium-term price stability and will continue to closely monitor economic developments amid uncertainties in the external environment,” it said in its policy statement.

Unlike most central banks that manage monetary policy through interest rates, MAS manages monetary policy by letting the local dollar rise or fall against the currencies of its main trading partners within an undisclosed band, known as the S$NEER.

It adjusts its policy by changing the slope, mid-point and width of the band.