Asia Economics Weekly Auto rebound unlikely to last, new currency forecasts Automotive production across Asia, which was badly hit during the pandemic by a shortage of semiconductor components, is now rebounding rapidly as this constraint unwinds. This is providing a boost to... 28th April 2023 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Is the rebound in China boosting growth elsewhere? Despite China’s strong economic recovery last quarter, goods exports to the country from elsewhere in Asia fell in Q1. A big part of the reason is that China’s rebound was driven by just three sectors... 21st April 2023 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Philippines straddling US-China rift, IMF too optimistic So far, the Philippines appears to be successfully straddling the geopolitical divide as it tries to improve its political and military ties with the US, while also building on its strong economic... 14th April 2023 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly MAS decision on a knife edge, Thai inflation falling The Monetary Authority of Singapore is likely to leave its policy settings on hold at its scheduled meeting next week, with concerns about the growth outlook set to outweigh lingering worries on... 6th April 2023 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korean industry struggling, CPTPP+UK Korea’s manufacturing sector is in for a painful year with bloated inventories and weak external demand set to drag on production. Data published earlier today showed that production of semiconductors... 31st March 2023 · 10 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Reform boost for Indonesia, Thai election hots up Long-term prospects for Indonesia’s economy received a boost this week when parliament passed a long-delayed series of reforms that should lift competitiveness. Meanwhile, Thailand’s parliament was... 24th March 2023 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Can Asia continue to ride out the global storm? The impact of the current turmoil on Emerging Asia has so far been relatively small, and most currencies have appreciated against the US dollar over the past week. Large current account surpluses mean... 17th March 2023 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BoT forecast change, welcome progress in Sri Lanka Inflation in Thailand is falling sharply and is likely to drop back to the central bank’s 1-3% target by May. With the economy struggling, we are taking out the rate hike we originally had pencilled... 10th March 2023 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Q4 may mark the trough, only weak recovery ahead There are tentative signs in recent data that the slump in Asian goods exports may be nearing an end and that, after a dreadful performance at the end of 2022, GDP in much of the region may have... 3rd March 2023 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Malaysia’s infrastructure budget, Korea’s hawkish hold Malaysia today announced a modest tightening of fiscal policy for 2023, but the most eye-catching element of the budget was a significant (and welcome) increase in infrastructure spending. Global Drop... 24th February 2023 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Asia in 2050, Malaysia budget, Korea rate meeting Emerging Asia is set to play an increasingly important role in the global economy over the coming decades. According to our latest Long Run Outlook, seven of the world’s 20 largest economies will be... 17th February 2023 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Philippines: inflation surprise to prompt 50bps hike In most of the region inflationary pressures are continuing to ease and central banks are preparing to bring tightening cycles to an end. A key exception is the Philippines, where a jump in headline... 10th February 2023 · 10 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank of Korea turns dovish as downturn worsens Despite the jump in inflation last month, the worsening activity data means the Bank of Korea is likely to leave interest rates unchanged at its February meeting. 3rd February 2023 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Pakistan closing in on IMF deal By raising interest rates and allowing the currency to fall against the US dollar, Pakistan this week took more steps towards securing new funding from the IMF and avoiding a default. The remaining... 27th January 2023 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Rebounding won, Vietnam politics, dovish surprises The rebound in the won is unlikely to be welcomed by the country’s struggling exporters, but will come as a relief to the Bank of Korea, which had become worried that higher import prices would keep... 20th January 2023 · 12 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly China rebound, Thai election, new currency forecasts Disruption from China’s reopening is fading faster than we had expected and we have revised up our GDP growth forecast for this year. As daily life in China returns to normal, spending at hotels... 13th January 2023 · 8 mins read