Fisher: Don’t Sweat the Impact of the Strong U.S. Dollar on Asia

After a first-half fearfest, a new scare has Western investors shivering: the surging U.S. dollar, which many worry will spark big problems throughout Asia — whacking your neighboring trade partners. The greenback is up 8.8% this year against a trade-weighted global currency basket — 15.8% since June 2021. Many see the sinking Thai baht and Indian rupee — both down nearly 7% against the dollar year-to-date — presaging a looming currency contagion. But no. This isn’t 1997. A sizzling dollar no longer packs sufficient power to wallop China’s trade partners and ripple through your economy. See dollar fears for what they truly are: a sign of pulverized sentiment — counterintuitively bullish fuel for 2022’s remainder.