Singdollar stays above S$1 to 120 yen mark

The Singapore dollar stayed above the S$1-to-120 yen mark on Thursday (Nov 20), standing at 120.39 yen as at 6.35pm, after having peaked at 120.64 at around 3pm, Bloomberg data indicated.

The exchange rate had first breached the threshold on Wednesday evening.

The Singdollar has appreciated 4.4 per cent against the yen in the year to date.

Mastercard’s Travel Trends 2025 report in May noted that the number of Singaporean visitors to Japan in 2024 hit a record high, thanks to a 40 per cent rise in the Singdollar against the yen – despite airfares and hotels getting pricier.

It also observed that Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and India travellers were “particularly sensitive to exchangerate fluctuations”, after accounting for other factors.

In a note published on Thursday, DBS forecast a “high likelihood of elevated JPY volatility” due to policy risks”. It added that investors could monitor intervention risks in the yen and Japanese Government Bond markets.

Maybank added that the yen “remained under pressure”, even as Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda reiterated that a hiking cycle would stay intact following a meeting with newly-minted Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

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