SINGAPORE: Singapore eased monetary policy for the first time in over three years Monday as the US-China trade war bites, while the export-reliant economy narrowly avoided recession in the third quarter. The financial hub’s central bank joins others around the world, from Europe to the US, in loosening policy as fears mount of a global economic slowdown. And it has been hard hit in recent months, with growth rates and exports plummeting, dragged down by a weak manufacturing sector. Instead of using interest rates, Singapore manages monetary policy by letting the local dollar rise or fall against a currency basket of its main trading partners. The decline was led by the manufacturing sector, a pillar of the trade-dependent economy.

Source: New Strait Times October 14, 2019 01:41 UTC