SINGAPORE, Sept. 6, 2026, 10:52 a.m. SGT — Singapore’s latest six-month Treasury bill pays 1.60% a year. That is 30 basis points above UOB’s standard six-month promotion and 35 points above OCBC’s online offer. The next S$8.4 billion auction now has a clear hurdle.
The comparison favors cash buyers with modest balances. It reverses for Central Provident Fund money, which currently earns 2.50% in the Ordinary Account. Size and withdrawal terms can also outweigh a few basis points.
The six-month cash hurdle
Published annual rates; eligibility and lock periods differ
Rates checked Sept. 6. Sources: Monetary Authority of Singapore, UOB, OCBC and the GX26100Z Savings Bond notice.
Short Singapore rates are rising again
The Monetary Authority of Singapore confirmed the 1.60% cut-off for BS26117A, issued Sept. 1. It was the highest six-month result since December. The cut-off has climbed 24 basis points since February.
DBS strategist Eugene Leow sees a domestic cause alongside global bond weakness. “Between higher bill cutoffs, slower deposit growth and robust loan growth, upward pressure on rates is materialising,” he wrote on Thursday.
Six-month cut-offs have moved higher
Auction yield, annualized, from Feb. 26 through Aug. 27
Current through . The series is compiled from MAS auction results; MAS’s current-answer service independently confirms the latest cut-off.
The rise leaves Thursday’s auction open to surprise. BS26118E carries an announced S$8.4 billion size and settles Sept. 15. A current estimate places its cut-off between 1.49% and 1.66%, with the secondary benchmark at 1.57% on Friday.
That range is preliminary. Investors set the final price through a uniform-price auction. Heavy demand can pull the cut-off below the secondary-market reference.
The headline rate hides four different choices
At the latest 1.60% yield, S$50,000 face value produces about S$399 over 182 days. The investor pays roughly S$49,601 and receives S$50,000 at maturity. That follows MAS’s discount-price formula.
The same balance earns about S$324 at UOB’s 1.30% six-month rate. OCBC’s 1.25% online offer produces about S$312 over 182 days. Exact deposit interest depends on each bank’s date convention.
Some promotional cash beats the bill. An OCBC September top-up offer pays 1.60% for 88 days and 1.70% for the next 100. Its blended annual rate is about 1.653%, though it requires at least S$50,000 of qualifying fresh funds.
Match the instrument to the money
The highest displayed rate is not always the highest usable return
The latest 1.60% rate tops basic six-month offers at UOB and OCBC, while requiring a smaller denomination.
OCBC’s 188-day structure blends to about 1.653%, subject to incremental-balance and fresh-funds rules.
GX26100Z pays 1.65% in year one and averages 2.32% across ten years, with monthly redemption.
Current OA interest is 2.50%. On S$50,000, the six-month opportunity gap is about S$224 before timing effects.
CPF rate source: CPF Board, July–September 2026. Calculations use 182 days and annual simple rates.
The CPF gap deserves special care. T-bills can be bought through the CPF Investment Scheme, yet the OA’s current 2.50% floor exceeds the latest bill by 90 basis points. Extra CPF interest can widen that disadvantage for eligible balances.
Auction mechanics add another choice. A non-competitive applicant accepts the final cut-off and receives priority allocation up to 40% of the issue. A competitive applicant sets a minimum acceptable yield and risks receiving less, or nothing.
Every successful bidder receives the same cut-off yield. MAS allocates competitive bids from the lowest yield upward. That makes an excessively low bid easy to fill and costly if the auction clears higher.
Thursday decides whether the premium survives
A cut-off near 1.60% would preserve the bill’s advantage over ordinary six-month deposits. A result below 1.30% would hand UOB’s current offer the headline lead. Above 1.65%, the bill would also pass the first-year rate on October’s Savings Bond.
The main risk is reinvestment, not default. Six months of yield says little about the rate available in March. Bills can also fluctuate in the secondary market when sold before maturity.
Thursday’s cut-off will reveal whether tighter local liquidity has reached retail government paper. Until then, 1.60% is a reference point. It is not the promised return on BS26118E.
