The Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) continues its upward movement on Monday (9 March) as the greenback maintains its strength against the local currency.
SIBOR is a benchmark rate to which most home loans are pegged at.
Rising by some 3 percent to 0.836 percent yesterday from 0.812 at the end of last week, the current rate is also about 115 percent higher than the recorded low of 2014 at 0.389 percent.
The continued increase is attributed to the maintained US dollars (USD) gains against other currencies. The USD currently stands at S$1.3797. It is now up 4.09 per cent against the Singapore dollars (SGD) year-to-date, media reports said.
Last year, financial analysts said the 3-month SIBOR could potentially hit 1 to 2 percent at the end of 2015 as the US Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates by Q3 this year.
While the local currency has lost some 7 percent of its value versus the USD, market watchers noted that the SGD gained against the yen, euro, and ringgit.
Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg.
