Singapore's central bank unexpectedly tightened its monetary policy settings on Monday (July 27), citing inflation concerns.The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it would slightly increase the prevailing rate of appreciation of its exchange rate-based policy band, which is known as the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER).It said there was no change to the width of the policy band or the level at which it is centred.Of the 16 analysts polled by Reuters ahead of the review, 12 had expected the MAS to hold policy settings steady and four had forecast a tightening.«Core inflation is projected to step up from July and remain elevated but should moderate discernibly from around mid-2027,» the MAS said.The MAS had tightened monetary policy at its previous meeting in April. MAS said the extent of this increase in the rate of S$NEER appreciation is smaller than in April.The annual core inflation rate was 1.6 per cent y/y in June, lower than expectations.Preliminary data showed the economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 5.7 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier.[[nid:741000]] Read more