SINGAPORE--The Singapore dollar was little changed Thursday as markets await U.S. non-farm payrolls data Friday for the latest indication of the health of the U.S. economy.
The U.S. dollar was at S$1.2477 late in Asia, from S$1.2484 the same time Wednesday. The greenback had reached a 10-week low of S$1.2455 in New York trade, but has since recouped some of those losses.
The U.S. dollar has shed 1.3% against the Singapore currency since May 29, as market conviction in the strength of the U.S. economy weakened.
"Having gone very long the dollar (in May), we are now seeing some position-squaring ahead of this Friday's payroll numbers," said Nizam Idris, foreign exchange strategist at Macquarie.
Mr. Idris predicted the Singapore dollar will stabilize, and expects the U.S. dollar to trade in a range of S$1.2450 to S$1.2550, now that some of the enthusiasm for the greenback has worn off.
The risk to that view, he says, is the non-farm payrolls print, which could weaken the U.S. dollar if the U.S. economy adds fewer jobs in May than the 165,000 consensus.
Singapore government bonds saw some mild buying interest in the two-year and 10-year tenors as investors rotated out of stocks into safer government securities.
Write to Martin Vaughan at martin.vaughan@dowjones.com
