It was only because of the technicalities of the island republic’s monetary policy that sent its currency up to a never-before-seen level against the ringgit.

Nonetheless, currency traders would have seen huge gains … or losses … depending on which way they had placed their bets.

At its highest, the Singapore dollar was trading at RM3.23 yesterday. It closed at RM3.22. The previous all-time high was seen on May 23, 2022 when the dollar was equivalent to RM3.19.

According to a report on mothership.sg, Singapore had pursued a more aggressive monetary policy by appreciating the Singapore dollar at a faster rate and at a higher level.

On the other hand, Malaysia has maintained a relatively neutral stance to combat inflation.

Historically, the ringgit has been losing ground to the Singapore dollar since 2018, the report said.

In July 2015, S$1 was equivalent in value to RM2.81. On July 28, 2022, the Singapore dollar was equivalent to RM3.22.

The report stated that in Johor Bahru, where the Singapore dollar is accepted at retail outlets, it was going for RM3.21 on Aug 1.