Singapore on October 14 decided to ease monetary policy for the first time in more than three years as the national economy has narrowly avoided recession in the third quarter of 2019.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) manages monetary policy through exchange rate settings, rather than through interest rates. (Photo: todayonline.com)
Hanoi (VNA) – Singapore on October 14 decided to ease monetary policy for the firsttime in more than three years as the national economy has narrowly avoidedrecession in the third quarter of 2019.
The decision cameafter the US-China trade war has taken its toll on the export-reliant economy ofthe city-state.
Singapore has beenthe first among export-driven economies in Asia to be affected during adownturn, making it a closely watched barometer of demand for goods andservices for the rest of the region.
The Singaporeaneconomy has been hard hit in recent months, with growth rates and exports falling,as the US-China trade tensions upend the global trading system.
The MonetaryAuthority of Singapore (MAS) – the country’s central bank - joins others aroundthe world in loosening policy as fears mount of a global economic slowdown.
The MAS said it willreduce slightly the slope of the band at which its currency is allowed to move,effectively allowing for a weaker dollar, as had been expected. Instead of using interest rates, Singaporemanages monetary policy by letting the local dollar rise or fall against acurrency basket of its main trading partners.
According to theMAS, in the last six months, the manufacturing sector’s drag on GDP growth hasintensified, reflecting the ongoing downturn in the global electronics cycle aswell as the pullback in investment spending, caused in part by the uncertaintyin US-China relations.
Preliminary GDP datareleased at the same time showed Singapore's economy narrowly avoided fallinginto a technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.
It expanded just 0.6percent in the three months to September on a quarterly basis, bouncing backfrom a shock 2.7 percent second-quarter contraction. The economy grew 0.1percent on a yearly basis.
Singapore lastslipped into recession in the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2008./.
As Singapore continues to see sluggish trade and growth data, with core inflation at a three-year low, economists forecast the central bank to ease monetary policy in its upcoming review and provide some support to the economy.
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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) manages monetary policy through exchange rate settings, rather than through interest rates. (Photo: todayonline.com) 
