Asia Economics Update India’s inflation data keep RBI in a bind India’s most closely-watched inflation measure rose further in August, underlining the challenges faced by the Reserve Bank’s (RBI) new governor, Raghuram Rajan, when the economy is obviously... 16th September 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update GDP growth to remain strong in Sri Lanka GDP growth in Sri Lanka accelerated in y/y terms in the second quarter due mainly to a surge in construction spending. We expect the economy to continue to grow strongly for the rest of the year... 13th September 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia to keep monetary policy tight Bank Indonesia (BI) today unexpectedly hiked interest rates in response to continued weakness in the rupiah. Looking ahead, even if the currency starts to recover soon, monetary policy will still need... 12th September 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Rates on hold in the Philippines, but hikes likely next year With no sign that strong economic growth is feeding through into higher consumer price inflation, the central bank in the Philippines (BSP), as expected, opted to keep interest rates unchanged today... 12th September 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korean rates set for prolonged hold The Bank of Korea (BoK) kept interest rates on hold today amid signs that the economy is starting to recover. Looking ahead, with inflation set to remain subdued, we think the central bank will keep... 12th September 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand rate hike still looks some way off The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept its policy rate unchanged at 2.5% today. A rate hike is likely in 2014, but tightening is unlikely to be aggressive. 11th September 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Central bank in Malaysia to hike rates next year Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) kept its policy rate unchanged at 3.0% at its meeting today. We expect the BNM to keep rates on hold for the rest of the year before hiking by 25bp as it looks to reduce... 5th September 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update What should we make of India’s latest reforms? The new governor of India’s central bank has arrived with a package of reforms that should settle the nerves of investors. However, the government has not been playing its part, making little progress... 5th September 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia’s mining slowdown is inevitable Australia’s GDP growth remained slightly below trend in Q2. We expect growth to slow further over the coming quarters as the economy struggles to cope with cooling mining investment. 4th September 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Currency weakness will not lead to inflation spike in Asia The recent sell-off in Asian currencies has sparked fears that the region is about to suffer a sharp spike in inflation. We think this is unlikely. While exchange rate depreciation can push up the... 3rd September 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia likely to cut rates before the end of the year The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept its policy rate on hold today, as expected. However, we still expect further loosening before the end of the year, and think that rates will remain very low in... 3rd September 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update August PMIs show Asian manufacturing sectors still struggling The August PMIs for Emerging Asia show that, outside of China, the region’s manufacturers are continuing to struggle, with the headline numbers now below 50 across the region. 2nd September 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Slower growth in Indonesia likely after recent rate hikes The extent of the latest rout in emerging market currencies has prompted comparisons with previous crises, such as that in the autumn of 2008. But we suspect some recovery may be around the corner... 29th August 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Growth in the Philippines to remain strong GDP growth in the Philippines remained strong in Q2, helped by buoyant domestic demand. The economy is well-placed to withstand recent turmoil in financial markets. Indeed, we still expect the... 29th August 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update How does India today compare with previous crises? The rupee continued to slide today, breaking through 65 to the US dollar for the first time. Newspaper headlines continue to talk of a crisis. In this Update we compare the current situation with... 22nd August 2013 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Emerging Asia Markets Monitor (Aug.) Asian currencies and equity markets have been hit hard by the recent sell-off inemerging market assets with India and Indonesia the worst affected in the region.Bond yields have risen, but remain low... 21st August 2013 · 1 min read
