Japan Economics Weekly Weak activity won’t forestall BoJ tightening On the Bank of Japan's favoured measure, spare capacity has remained tight across the economy despite the recent weakness of GDP - which this week's data confirmed extended into Q1. That's another... 17th May 2024 · 7 mins read
Japan Rapid Response Japan GDP (Q1 2024) The renewed drop in GDP in the first quarter mostly reflects production shutdowns at major carmakers and a pronounced rebound this quarter is very likely. And with services spending rebounding, the... 16th May 2024 · 3 mins read
Capital Daily JGB yields may keep going it alone, helping the yen While we expect government bond yields in most developed markets to fall back, we think that those in Japan will stabilise around their current levels. In turn, we anticipate that interest rate... 13th May 2024 · 4 mins read
Global Markets Update Does a weak yen spell trouble for Japanese equities? Although Japan’s equities and currency have generally moved in tandem in recent weeks, we think the historical inverse relationship between the two will reassert itself before long. We expect a... 10th May 2024 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Car production to drive Q2 GDP rebound Shutdowns at major carmakers were a key reason behind the likely plunge in GDP last quarter, but with production now having been resumed, a strong rebound in activity is on the cards. Meanwhile, the... 10th May 2024 · 5 mins read
Capital Daily The balancing act of a stronger yen for Japan’s markets We expect Japanese government bond (JGB) yields to rise a bit and the yen to come off the boil later this year, creating a headwind for equities there. 8th May 2024 · 4 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly BoJ may keep hiking even if inflation target isn’t met Even though the economic case for preventing the yen from sliding is much weaker, the Ministry of Finance seems to have responded with an even more forceful round of foreign exchange interventions... 3rd May 2024 · 6 mins read
Capital Daily What to make of the latest swings in the yen Japan’s apparent intervention in support of the beleaguered yen may buy some time for the currency to stabilise, but is unlikely to lead to sustained turnaround until US interest rate expectations... 29th April 2024 · 4 mins read
Japan Economics Update Case for FX intervention less compelling than in 2022 The Ministry of Finance may have intervened earlier today by selling FX reserves to halt the sharp fall of the yen. However, the economic case for foreign exchange intervention is much weaker now than... 29th April 2024 · 4 mins read
Japan Economics Update Bank of Japan will hike rates once more in July The Bank of Japan is getting more confident in meeting its inflation target on a sustained basis and signalled that inflation wouldn’t have to overshoot for policy to be tightened further. Nonetheless... 26th April 2024 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly BoJ’s confidence in sustained 2% inflation growing With pay hikes becoming increasingly widespread, the Bank of Japan is becoming more confident that it can meet its inflation target on a sustained basis. But with underlying inflation now clearly... 26th April 2024 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Update Plunge in Tokyo inflation won’t prevent BoJ tightening The plunge in inflation in Tokyo in April was mostly due to a sharp fall in high school tuition fees and the provision of free school meals. The impact of those policy changes on nationwide inflation... 26th April 2024 · 3 mins read
Japan Chart Pack Japan Chart Pack (Apr. 2024) Our Japan Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. (Please ignore the previous email which linked to the February Chart Pack) The latest activity data... 24th April 2024 · 1 min read