SINGAPORE-- The Singapore dollar gained slightly against the U.S. dollar Friday in Asia action as traders sought to square off some previously aggressive bets ahead of the weekend.
The U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.2729 in the last hour of trade Friday, compared with S$1.2755 around the same time on Thursday. During the day, the U.S. dollar touched a low of S$1.2725, the lowest since Aug. 19.
"The markets are stabilizing a bit and the Singapore dollar has benefited from safe haven flows as a AAA rated economy," said Thomas Harr, the head of Asian FX Strategy at Standard Chartered Bank.
Still, he said there won't be much movement lower for the U.S. dollar, tipping S$1.2650 as the floor next week.
Standard Chartered tips the U.S. dollar to rise to as high as S$1.3000 during the third quarter before falling to S$1.2700 by the end of the year, he said.
Singapore government bonds were little changed with investors likely lying low ahead of the weekend. Yield on the two-year government bond eased by a hundredth of a percentage point to 0.24%, while that on the 10-year bond was unchanged at 2.70%.
