Fed move won't ease price pressures in S'pore: Analysts

With two more US rate hikes expected, interest rates here could climb soon

- Ovais Subhani

The United States Federal Reserve delivered on Wednesday its smallest rate hike since last year and acknowledged that US inflation is cooling.

But that does not mean the price pressures seen in Singapore are now in the past and that interest rates here, especially those that affect home loans, will start to ease any time soon.

Analysts said short-term rates, such as the three-month Singapore Overnight Rate Average (Sora) and the Singapore Interbank Offer Rate (Sibor) – used as benchmarks for pricing floating-rate housing loan packages, will likely climb higher, tracking the 0.25 percentage point increase by the Fed.

Mr Chua Hak Bin, regional cohead of macro research at Maybank, said the three-month Sora will rise to 3.35 per cent, from 3.15 per cent now, while the three-month Sibor will likely rise towards 4.45 per cent, from its current level of 4.25 per cent.

This suggests that mortgage rates may climb further.