Singapore’s central bank kept its monetary policy settings unchanged for a third straight time amid expectations for inflation to ease only later this year — a decision that suggests any easing could be farther down the road.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, which uses the exchange rate as its main policy tool rather than interest rates, maintained the slope, width, and center of the currency band, it said in a statement Monday. The move will keep the local dollar on an appreciating path to blunt imported price gains.