{
  "id": 7969180,
  "title": "Singdollar, STI recover after slight dip following US Fed rate hike",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/singdollar-sti-recover-after-slight-dip-following-us-fed-rate-hike",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-17T06:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Straits Times Business",
    "slug": "straits-times-business",
    "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/business/singdollar-sti-recover-after-slight-dip-following-us-fed-rate-hike"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Singapore's currency rebounded against the US dollar following a brief dip after the Federal Reserve's September 16 rate hike, writes our correspondent in Singapore. The Central Bank increased its benchmark overnight interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75 percent to 4 percent, marking its first increase since July 2023 and signaling potential further hikes in 2026. Inflation, driven by factors such as US tariffs, energy shock from the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, and AI boom, remained high at 3.4 percent in August, surpassing the Fed's target of 2 percent. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh remarked that inflation has been \"too high... for too long\" during a press conference.\n\nThe Fed's move aimed to bring price stability and support a timely return to its 2 percent goal. Consequently, the US dollar strengthened against the Singdollar, easing from around $1.278 to $1.276 around noon local time, despite the Monetary Authority of Singapore's policy of allowing the local currency to appreciate against other currencies.\n\nThe Straits Times Index (STI) dipped slightly before recovering to approximately 5,650 points shortly after noon on September 17, remaining broadly unchanged from its opening level. Analysts cautioned that the Fed's return to rate hikes could cap STI gains, as higher bond yields make them more appealing than equities. This could negatively impact real estate investment trusts due to increased refinancing costs and lower dividend attractiveness compared to safer government bonds. Singapore banks might initially benefit from higher market rates, but prolonged tightening could weaken loan demand, raise bad-debt risks, and cause losses on their bond holdings. DBS shares traded at $76.80 at noon on September 17, up from an intraday high of $77.30 in the morning, while OCBC shares were at $31.19 and UOB at $41.75, up 1.3 percent from the market open.",
  "summary": "The Singdollar recovered ground against the US dollar after initially weakening following the Fed's rate hike.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Business Recorder",
        "title": "South Korea shares rise as Fed rate hike eases uncertainty",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/south-korea-shares-rise-as-fed-rate-hike-eases-uncertainty",
        "published": "2026-09-17T06:44:38.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}