Trump's war on washing machine imports may have early casualty in Singapore

The Singapore dollar is particularly exposed to investor expectations of future growth trends as the country's central bank uses the currency as a monetary policy tool instead of interest rates

US President Donald Trump’s attack on washing machine imports may end up putting the Singapore dollar through the spin-cycle.

Economic growth in the Asian city state has closely followed year-on-year changes in global trade volumes for almost twenty years, as the nation handles the second highest amount of containers in the world. Any escalation of US protectionism, with Trump seen advocating his “America First” policies at Davos, could have an adverse reaction on investor expectations for Singapore’s growth, monetary policy and the local dollar.

“Singapore would be more adversely affected than other economies should the US step up protectionist policies,” said Hirofumi