SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--The Singapore dollar was slightly weaker against the U.S. dollar late Wednesday compared with levels seen in Asia late on Tuesday, though the local currency had regained some poise following early losses and is expected to remain rangebound against its U.S. counterpart.
Risk sentiment in Asia was muted and regional stock markets were mixed after data from China, the world's second-largest economy, showed that manufacturing activity was still contracting.
Tuesday's news of a second rescue package for debt-stricken Greece, while initially fueling risk appetite, also failed to inspire lasting confidence across global markets.
In early Asian hours, the U.S. dollar rose to as high as S$1.2613, though the U.S. currency later fell back below the psychological S$1.2600 level, and analysts expect the currency pair to remain stable over the next few days.
"Multi-session, we keep a flat profile for the USD/SGD with two-way risks increasingly looking balanced," said OCBC Treasury Research in a note.
The house said it would look for further directional cues on a departure from the pair's 200-day moving average at 1.2556.
Singapore government bonds were relatively unchanged, and the market was expected to remain muted this week given a lack of compelling leads from U.S. Treasurys.
-By Matthew Allen, Dow Jones Newswires; +65 64154 158; matthew.allen@dowjones.com
