SINGAPORE--The Singapore dollar was trading lower against the U.S. dollar late Monday, tracking broad-based gains in the greenback against major currencies as investors took comfort from positive U.S. jobs data.
Traders and analysts said the U.S. dollar will likely trade higher as expectations of monetary easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve may gain attention, given positive economic numbers from the world's largest economy.
"The strong U.S. dollar-trend is expected to continue this week following stronger-than-expected June U.S. non-farm payrolls data last Friday," United Overseas Bank said in a note.
Looking ahead for Singapore, analysts said the market will be watching for local second-quarter economic numbers, which will provide direction to the local currency.
The latest U.S. data released Friday showed non-farm payrolls job numbers rose 195,000, above the 165,000 expected increase, firming up expectations that the U.S. Fed may not need to continue to maintain its easy monetary policy stance to support the economy. The better-than-expected numbers saw selling in local currencies toward the greenback.
In the local government bond market, prices were mostly flat, with some buying seen in two-year bonds as a weak equities market saw investors moving toward safe-haven government bonds.
