MAS easing more likely next month after surprisingly weak IP print

The SGD NEER will be re-centered.

February’s surprisingly weak Industrial Production (IP) print is likely to lead to another policy easing by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Data released by the Department of Statistics yesterday showed that February IP declined 3.6% year-on-year, below consensus estimates of a 2.2% contraction.

A report by UOB highlighted that this IP release will be the last data-point before the MAS makes its decision in its April policy meeting.

“We think that the weakness, coupled with the SGD NEER trading quite close to the -2% band recently, will see the MAS adopting a downward re-centering of the SGD NEER midpoint by around 2% in their April decision. We continue to see the USD/SGD trending higher to the 1.44 mark by end-2015,” UOB noted.

A report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch also stated that the MAS is likely to re-center the exchange rate policy band lower to the prevailing level of the S$NEER.

“We see the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) further easing policy at its mid-April meeting, by re-centering the exchange rate policy band lower to the prevailing level of the S$NEER. Today's weak IP reading suggests downside risks to growth, and reinforces our expectation. We see downside risks to our full year 2015 growth forecast of 2.8%, and believe there is a high likelihood that the government will have to reduce its GDP growth forecast to 1%-3% before mid-year, from the current 2%-4%,” stated BofAML.

The people you want to reach are already in this room.

Every quarter, SBR lands on the desks of the founders, CFOs, and directors running Asia's most consequential companies. Every day, they open our newsletter and read our website. It's a room that took twenty years to build — and it's the one most of our partners are trying to get into.

The good news is that the door is open. We work with companies on thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. The shape of the right partnership depends on what you're trying to do, which is why we'd rather start with a conversation than send a rate card.

If you have something this room should know about, tell us. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.

No rate cards until we understand the brief. It's a better use of everyone's time.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia