SINGAPORE--The Singapore dollar fell Monday to its lowest level in a week as its U.S. counterpart gained ground against Asian currencies following the release of weak Chinese economic data and a healthier-than-expected U.S. jobs report.
"We're seeing a bit of a sell-off on Asian currencies, in reaction to the China data and U.S. Treasury moves," said Saktiandi Supaat, currency analyst at Maybank.
The U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.2574 after rising to an intraday peak of S$1.2585, the highest level since June 3. The greenback had changed hands at S$1.2458 late in Asia Friday.
For the coming week, Mr. Saktiandi expects markets to find direction from upcoming Chinese economic data releases, as well as the outcome of a Bank of Japan policy meeting, which may have implications for the Japanese yen and other Asian currencies.
"The dollar strength is still quite overwhelming, but I don't think the Singapore dollar will significantly underperform the other Asian currencies, as it has already weakened somewhat in recent weeks," the analyst said.
He said he expected the U.S. dollar to trade around S$1.2600 for the near term, though external factors may catalyze its rise toward S$1.2680 this week.
Longer-dated Singapore government bonds fell heavily, tracking movements in U.S. Treasurys in the wake of Friday's U.S. jobs report.
Write to Chun Han Wong at chunhan.wong@dowjones.com
