- Singapore dollar (SGD) rises after recent losses
- China retaliated modestly to Trump’s trade tariffs
- US Dollar (USD) falls after weaker data
- JOLTS job openings fall to 7.6 million
The US Dollar Singapore dollar (USD/SGD) exchange rate is falling after three days of gains. The pair rose 0.13% in the previous session, settling on Monday at 1.3600. USD/SGD trades -0.57% at 1.3522 on Tuesday and traded in a range of 1.3508 and 1.3631.
The Singapore dollar is recovering from recent weakness despite Trump applying 10% trade tariffs to China. Beijing retaliated with tariffs on some US imports. However, China’s relatively restrained response has eased concerns of an all-out trade war between the two largest economies of the world.
While attention will remain on trade tariff developments, investors will look towards the cake seen China PMI services release overnight, which could provide more clues about the health of the Chinese economy, a key trading partner for Singapore.
The US Dollar falls across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades at 108.01, up 0.9%, after two days of losses.
The US dollar is fooling I’ll trade continues as trade worries is following the US delaying a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico late on Monday.
Losses in the dollar world accelerated by a softer-than-expected US jolts job openings and factory orders report. Charles’s job openings fell to 7.6 million, well below the 8 million forecasts and pointing to weaker labor markets.
Meanwhile, US factory orders fell 0.9% month over month, below the 0.8% month over month decline expected. This also marked the largest decline in six months.
While the Fed highlighted the strength of the US economy and the resilience of the labor market as reasons to leave interest rates unchanged, any signs that the data is weakening could duel rate cut expectations, pulling the USD lower.
Attention will now turn to US ISM services PMI data tomorrow and the ADP payroll reports, which are expected to show solid growth.
