Is it a good time to buy USD from Singapore Dollars?

USDSGD Forecast Highlights

• USDSGD renewing strength from 1.378
• Technically support noted at 1.340 and 1.320, which may halt SGD appreciation
• Rate volatility likely to increase within recent price bands as market digests macro uncertainties

How has USDSGD performed recently?

The Singapore Dollar is a beacon of stability among Asian currencies. Last year, it was one of the few currencies in the world to hit multi-year highs against the US dollar. The rate, for a brief moment, touched 1.280 – its highest level since 2014.

In an era where no country wants to have an ultra-strong currency, SGD subsequently weakened and retraced all these gains. This is in part driven by Dollar’s strength.

Prices, at the start of the year, tested the 2023 lows near 1.380. That level is now technically affirmed as a ceiling (see below).

What next? Given the wide range of prices the rate has been travelling since mid-2024, it is currently in a ‘no man’s land’ where the rate could easily go north (to 1.360) or south (to 1.320). Near-term volatility may be high but likely directionless within the distinct price band.

Is it a good time to buy US dollars? 

If you need USD in the near term, 1.340 is a reasonably good rate to buy some.

USDSGD has strengthened somewhat (from 1.378) to give SGD holders a chance to lock in the best rate since November 2024.

Of course, the rate could drop to 1.320. But this is by no means guaranteed. Prices could easily rebound first, to 1.360, then decline. By then, we may looking at the third quarter already.

Therefore, watch to buy some USD now and watch to buy more on a further drop into 1.320.

Will USD get stronger?

In Singapore, the currency is a closely monitored instrument. This is because the monetary authority (MAS) targets the country’s currency in order to control local price stability.

The intermediate target is called the Singapore Dollar Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (S$NEER), a trade-weighted basket of currencies. This is markedly different to, say, the United Kingdom where the Bank of England employs the Base Rate as a broad instrument to stabilise prices.

The reason for this (as clearly articulated here) is that Singapore is a small and open economy. Its “gross exports and imports of goods and services are more than 300 percent of GDP and domestic expenditure has a high import content, the exchange rate has a much stronger influence on inflation than the interest rate.”

The past movement of S$NEER is plotted below.

Source: mas.gov.sg (Jan 2025)

Essentially, there are three parameters to this S$NEER: slope, width and centred band.
The monetary authority publishes its outlook of the S$NEER at each monetary policy statement. If there is an adjustment to any of these parameters, it will say so.

For example, in January’s monetary statement, MAS announced: “Singapore’s growth momentum is expected to slow over this year……MAS will therefore reduce slightly the slope of the S$NEER policy band. There will be no change to the width of the policy band or the level at which it is centred.”

In other words, the monetary authority does not fix or peg the Singapore Dollar against any one currency. It uses a trade-weighted basket to judge the effective strength of SGD and then manages this basket broadly. It allow day-to-day price fluctuation of individual exchange rates.

Periodically, the central bank also conducts a survey of professional forecasts of S$NEER. The latest survey was done in December 2024 (see below).

Now, against the USD, the exchange rate has been driven mostly by the strength of the greenback in the 4Q of 2025. Since the start of the year, however, the USD is retracing some of its gains. USDSGD is trading along this general trend.

Given the rise in macro uncertainties, partly due to increased tariffs proposals, the market is waiting to see the impact of all these factors. USDSGD may continue to bounce sideways, within the 1.300-1.380 level.

Source: mas.gov.sg (Dec 2025)