Singapore has moved to loosen its monetary policy for the first time in three-and-a-half years to help offset slowing economic momentum due to prolonged U.S.-China trade tensions.
As a small, heavily trade-dependent economy, the country has been heavily exposed to the tariff battle between two of its largest trading partners. Exports have been falling at a double-digit pace from last year’s levels.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore, the central bank, said in its semiannual policy statement Monday that it would slightly decrease the slope of the Singapore dollar’s exchange policy band, a move to guide a weaker appreciation of the local currency.
The nation’s monetary policy is based on its exchange rate whereby the Singapore dollar is managed against a basket of currencies representing the country’s major trading partners.
With this move, Singapore follows regional peers such as Indonesia, the Philippines and India, all of which have eased monetary policy by cutting interest rates in recent months.
Singapore’s adjustment comes as trade-related industries stagnate under pressure from the U.S.-China standoff, though economists say domestically focused sectors have held up better. (more…)
Drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels hit two oil production facilities in Saudi Arabia Saturday, sparking huge fires that threatened global energy supply.
The Interior Ministry confirmed attacks in a statement carried by state-run Saudi Press Agency. The Iranian-backed Houthis claimed credit, saying 10 drones were used in the assault.
The attack sites are home to one of the world’s largest oil processing facilities and a major oil field, likely disrupting the kingdom’s oil production. The attacks are also likely to exacerbate tensions in the Persian Gulf amid the confrontation between the U.S. and Iran over a crippled nuclear deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the attacks, the White House said, adding it was committed to keeping oil markets well supplied.
“The United States strongly condemns today’s attack on critical energy infrastructure,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said. “Violent actions against civilian areas and infrastructure vital to the global economy only deepen conflict and mistrust.”
Secretary of State Michael Pompo blamed Iran for the attacks, saying there is no evidence that the attacks came from Yemen. Iran launched an “unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” Pompeo said on Twitter
The coordinated strikes targeted two facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. The fires have already been put out, the Interior Ministry said.
The Wall Street Journal cited sources saying Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, shut down about half its oil output after the attacks, resulting in a reduction of 5 million barrels a day, or roughly 5% of the world’s daily production.
Saturday’s attacks represent some of the largest launched by the Houthis, who have been targeting Saudi Arabia’s gas facilities, pipelines and tankers. A Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Muslim countries has been fighting the Houthis in Yemen since 2015 in what is widely seen as a proxy war with Shiite rival Iran.
The coalition launched airstrikes against a Houthi camp in Yemen on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Trump has hinted at the possibility of meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting later this month. But the latest attacks would likely dim the prospects for reducing tensions in the region.
South Korea’s military will conduct two days of drills around a tiny island also claimed by Japan, Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday, just days after Seoul decided to scrap an intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo amid worsening relations.
Tokyo and Seoul have long been at loggerheads over the sovereignty of the group of islets called Takeshima in Japanese and Dokdo in Korean, which lie about halfway between the East Asian neighbours in the Sea of Japan, which Seoul refers to as the East Sea.
The military drills were scheduled to begin on Sunday, Yonhap reported, and could exacerbate tensions between the two neighbours.
South Koreas on Thursday had announced the scrapping of the intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, drawing a swift protest from Tokyo and deepening a decades-old dispute over history that has hit trade and undercut security cooperation over North Korea.
Relations between South Korea and Japan began to deteriorate late last year following a diplomatic row over compensation for wartime forced labourers during Japan’s occupation of Korea.
They soured further when Japan tightened its curbs on exports of high-tech materials needed by South Korea’s chip industry, and again this month when Tokyo said it would remove South Korea’s fast-track export status.
The disputed islands have long been one of the most sensitive areas of contention for South Korea and Japan. Recently, South Korea and Japan traded words over the way the islands were described on a website for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
The islands were at the centre of a more serious clash in July, when both South Korea and Japan responded to what they saw as a violation of their air space near the islands by a Russian military plane.
33% India
13% China
9% Nigeria
5% Bangladesh
5% DR Congo
