Overseas Chinese Bank: MAS may tighten policies before the second half of the year

Selena Ling of OCBC Bank wrote in a report that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) may choose to tighten its monetary policy earlier than previously expected, possibly announcing it as early as in the April policy statement. Before the conflict in Iran, OCBC Bank expected MAS to tighten its policy in the second half of the year. However, Ling indicated that given the possibility of escalating tensions in the Middle East, if the energy industry is affected in the long term and supply chains are disrupted, leading to exacerbated domestic inflation, MAS is increasingly likely to tighten policy. She stated that if crude oil prices remain high around $100 per barrel in the second quarter before returning to normal levels, this could push up both overall and core CPI, exceeding the February readings.