As largely expected, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will be maintaining the rate of appreciation of the Singapore dollar (SGD) nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) policy band at 0%. The slope of the SGD NEER policy band was reduced to 0% by MAS in April 2016, given a more modest outlook for economy growth in the year. In its latest monetary policy statement on Friday, MAS now projects the Singapore economy to grow at an even slower pace this year than envisaged in April. This is because gross domestic product (GDP) growth is on current indications not expected to pick up significantly in 2017, reflecting weak global demand and the cyclical as well as structural factors weighing on Singapore’s exports, says MAS. Advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry today (MTI) indicates that the Singapore economy contracted by 4.1% on a q-o-q seasonally adjusted annualised ......