MAS Tightens Again: Singapore's Inflation Fight Reaches Households and Parliament

MAS surprised markets this week by allowing the Singdollar to appreciate at a slightly faster pace — its second straight tightening since April, though smaller this time — as core inflation climbed to 1.5% in Q2 2026 from 1.2% before the Middle East conflict began. The pain is landing hardest on middle-income households: SingStat data shows their inflation rate doubled to 1.8% in the first half of 2026, from 0.9%, and hit 2.2% excluding...