May 2022 Performance
There was no shortage of reasons in May for markets to be bearish.
The effect of elevated inflationary pressure started to seep through
economic data and company earnings in many countries. Major
central banks worldwide raised key benchmark rates this month to
tame inflation. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve signaled a strong
commitment to tightening monetary policy to catch up with inflation.
Meanwhile, markets struggled to find clarity on the path of future rate
hikes, fearing that by raising interest rates too far or too quickly, the
economy could topple into a recession.
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In Singapore, core inflation rose to 3.3% on a year-over-year basis in April and was forecast to increase further in the coming months. In May, the iBoxx Singapore Dollar (SGD) Overall Index made a loss of 0.56%, while the high-yield (HY) subindex outperformed the investment-grade (IG) subindex by 85 bps.

All IG subindices fell in the red, with the AA sector (-1.52%) recording the worst performance, followed by the AAA sector (-0.66%). The sharpest declines were observed in the 10+ year maturity buckets.
The sovereign and non-sovereign subindices suffered losses this month, but the non-sovereigns subindex outperformed both the overall index and government subindex. The top performer in the overall index was bought back in May by its issuer Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPHSP), which was delisted from Singapore Exchange on May 13, 2022, and became wholly owned by Cuscaden Peak.
The overall index ended the month, offering a yield of 2.94%, with a duration of 6.80 years.
