MAS says global growth risks risen 'significantly'

SINGAPORE (July 4): Singapore’s central bank said tail risks to global economic growth have increased “significantly” in the past six months because of a pick-up in inflation and trade tensions.

“The world has clearly moved from trade tension to trade conflict,” Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, told reporters on Wednesday at the release of the bank’s annual report. “If this escalates into a trade war, all three engines of global growth -- manufacturing, trade, and investment -- will stall.”

With the US threatening to slap higher tariffs on goods from China, Canada, the European Union and others, concerns are mounting that the trade conflict will spread, undermining global growth. That’s on top of risks from higher oil prices, rising global interest rates and a stronger dollar.

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