Asia Economics Weekly BoT decision on a knife edge Inflation in Thailand was still negative last month, according to data released earlier today. With recent activity subdued, the central bank will have to change tack and start loosening policy soon... 5th April 2024 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly MAS likely to loosen policy later than most in Asia Singapore was an outlier within Asia in terms of how high inflation spiked and it still has higher core inflation than most other economies in the region. The core rate is likely to remain above... 28th March 2024 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Political risk in Vietnam; SBP’s hawkish hold One of Vietnam’s key appeals to foreign investors is its political stability relative to other low-income countries in the region. Given this, the unexplained ousting of President Vo Van Thuong of... 22nd March 2024 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Taiwan: strong growth, but falling inflation Despite the booming economy, inflation in Taiwan has been falling back in recent months. Accordingly, we expect the central bank (CBC) to leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Thursday. 15th March 2024 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea: resilient activity data, sticky inflation We are sticking with our view that the Bank of Korea will cut interest rates at its June meeting, but the recent resilience of the economy and the stickiness of inflation means the risks are skewed to... 8th March 2024 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea: President Yoon’s rise in popularity boosts reform hopes President Yoon Suk-yeol has seen a rebound in his popularity in recent weeks, helped in part by the strong stance he has taken against the country’s striking junior doctors. The improvement in the... 1st March 2024 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank of Thailand under pressure to cut interest rates Thailand has experienced by far the slowest recovery from the pandemic in the region – with GDP just 0.5% bigger than it was in the final quarter of 2019. While much of the weakness is due to the slow... 23rd February 2024 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BoK on hold, Malaysia Q4 GDP, election roundup The Bank of Korea looks almost certain to leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Thursday. Instead, the focus will be on the tone of the statement. We expect the central bank to start... 16th February 2024 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Encouraging news on inflation, Indonesia elections The most recent batch of inflation figures for the region paint an encouraging picture. Headline inflation fell again in most countries last month and is now within target nearly everywhere. With... 9th February 2024 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Monetary policy forecast changes, Korea inflation We are pushing back the timing of when we think the central banks of the Philippines and Indonesia will cut interest rates. Although inflation is within target in both countries and domestic demand is... 2nd February 2024 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korean consumer weakness, SBP to sound hawkish Korea’s GDP figures published this week show that, although the economy held up relatively well last quarter, the recovery is becoming increasingly lobsided. Exports have been strong, but domestic... 26th January 2024 · 9 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Currency weakness unlikely to last, BNM on hold The recent fall in Asian currencies is likely to reverse later in the year, if as we anticipate, the US Fed starts to cut interest rates soon. A rebound in Asian currencies should create an... 19th January 2024 · 9 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea: rise in female participation rate a welcome sign Korea’s December labour market report published earlier this week show the country is making welcome progress in bringing more women into the formal labour force. Unfortunately, however, this recent... 12th January 2024 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BoK meeting, Philippines inflation, Asian elections The Bank of Korea looks almost certain to leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Thursday. But with inflation falling and concerns about the economy mounting, we expect the central bank to... 5th January 2024 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Three key calls for 2024 Our three key calls for 2024 are that growth will struggle, inflation will fall and that central banks will start to cut interest rates sooner than most expect. 22nd December 2023 · 9 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Xi’s visit to Vietnam, Sri Lanka on the mend Despite the close show of friendship on display this week during President Xi Jinping of China’s visit to Vietnam, our global fracturing map has Vietnam in the “lean US camp”. By leaning more towards... 15th December 2023 · 6 mins read
