Singapore central bank chief says US dollar assets irreplaceable

[DOHA] US dollar-based assets have “enduring advantages” and remain virtually irreplaceable in the global financial system despite the US losing its top triple-A credit rating, according to Singapore’s central bank chief.

“They are the dominant, safe assets for use in the financial system, deeply embedded,” Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Chia Der Jiun said at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday (May 20).

“The US$28-trillion Treasury market is fundamental and systemic to the global financial system and there is no alternative for this point,” he said.

Moody’s Ratings last week stripped the US of its top credit rating, a landmark move that casts doubt on the nation’s status as the world’s highest-quality sovereign borrower.

In lowering the US by one notch below the highest investment-grade position, the credit rater joins Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings in downgrading the world’s biggest economy. US long-dated debt initially sold off in response to the Moody’s downgrade.

Chia said there may be near-term volatility as market participants price in the latest developments, but he was optimistic of a relatively stable outlook for US dollar-based assets.

Factors that the market are paying attention to include any prospect for slower growth and higher inflation in the US as well as cues on its fiscal trajectory and policies that could reinforce that confidence.

“There is generally an overweight exposure to US assets from Asian investors – in fact, most of it unhedged – so some changes in that sentiment and the read of the direction of the market can cause an outsized reaction,” Chia said.

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