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A key channel through which emerging markets could be affected by the strains in the global banking sector is if lending by foreign banks falls sharply. On this front, EMs’ vulnerabilities have eased since the Global Financial Crisis. But there are still …
16th March 2023
Bank Indonesia (BI) today left interest rates unchanged (at 5.75%), and signalled that with inflation falling back more quickly than expected, rates would be left on hold over the coming months. In the event that the rupiah comes under sustained …
No more hikes this year Bank Indonesia (BI) kept its main policy rate unchanged today (at 5.75%), and signalled that further rate increases this year were unlikely. The rupiah has held up relatively well over the past week despite the turmoil in global …
Economy likely to remain weak despite some encouraging signs GDP figures released today for Sri Lanka highlight the scale of the economic damage caused by last year’s political crisis and debt default. While there are some tentative signs that the worst …
15th March 2023
Vietnam’s central bank unexpectedly lowered interest rates late yesterday as it aims to support the struggling economy which has been hit hard by the downturn in global demand and problems in the property sector. We think the central bank will tread …
At the time of writing, financial markets appear to be stabilising after the turmoil caused by the collapse of SVB. And it doesn’t look like EMs have suffered large capital outflows or strains in their banking sectors. If this relatively benign scenario …
14th March 2023
Thailand forecast change The recent inflation data from Emerging Asia have made for encouraging reading, with headline inflation falling in seven out of the nine countries to have published February data. (See Chart 1.) Chart 1: Consumer Prices (%, …
10th March 2023
For most economies in Emerging Asia it will be local factors, not the actions of the US Fed, that determine the next moves by the region’s central banks. Given the poor outlook for economic growth in Asia, policymakers are unlikely to respond to a more …
9th March 2023
Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) left its policy rate unchanged today (at 2.75%) and with the economy likely to remain weak and inflation set to fall back further over the coming months, we expect rates to stay on hold for the rest of the year. Today’s …
Rates set to remain on hold in 2023 Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) left its main policy rate unchanged today (at 2.75%) and stated again that it would continue to take time to monitor the impact of past rate hikes before deciding if further tightening was …
Very weak Q4 figures The fourth quarter GDP figures published over the past few weeks made for grim reading. GDP contracted in around half of the countries covered by our Emerging Asia services. Only India, Indonesia and the Philippines recorded decent …
3rd March 2023
Pakistan’s central bank (SBP) raised its policy rate by 300bps (to 20.0%) today, and signalled monetary policy would remain tight as policymakers look to secure a loan deal with the IMF and tackle multi-decade high inflation. We expect a further 200bps …
2nd March 2023
Signs of improvement Manufacturing PMIs in Emerging Asia rose in February, helped by a rebound in the export orders sub-component. While the data provide the first tentative signs that the worst may be over for the region’s manufacturers, the recovery is …
1st March 2023
Asian currencies have dropped back over the past few weeks against the US dollar, with the two worst hit currencies (the Thai baht and the Korean won) down around 6% against the greenback since the start of the month. Renewed concern about inflation in …
27th February 2023
Malaysia announces modest fiscal tightening Malaysia today announced a modest tightening of fiscal policy for 2023, but the most eye-catching element of the budget was a significant increase in infrastructure spending. The budget deficit is projected to …
24th February 2023
The Bank of Korea today left interest rates unchanged (3.5%), but appeared to leave open the door to further hikes later in the year. However, with the economy struggling badly and inflationary pressures set to ease further over the coming months, we …
23rd February 2023
Cuts coming sooner than consensus expects The Bank of Korea today left interest rates unchanged (3.5%), bringing an end to the country’s tightening cycle. With the economy struggling badly and inflationary pressures set to ease further over the coming …
Figures released today highlight the dreadful demographic outlook facing Korea, with the population (excluding migrants) falling for a third year in a row. Poor demographics are the key reason why we expect trend growth in Korea to continue slowing over …
22nd February 2023
The war in Ukraine. Ageing populations. Rising temperatures. Investors are having to grapple with a formidable range of uncertainties around the long-term outlook for the global economy and markets. Their challenge is compounded by the fracturing of the …
The near-term economic outlook for Korea is very poor, with falling real incomes, problems in the housing market and weak global demand all set to weigh on prospects this year. Our forecast is that the economy will grow by a below-consensus and …
21st February 2023
Asia to dominate by 2050 We published our latest Long Run Outlook this week with detailed forecasts out to 2050 for 60 economies. They suggest that Emerging Asia will dominate the global economy in 2050. The region’s share of global GDP (measured at …
17th February 2023
Thailand’s economy contracted sharply in the final quarter of last year, as a strong recovery in the tourism sector was unable to compensate for weakness elsewhere. Looking beyond the weak fourth quarter though, we think the economy is likely to benefit …
Tourism to drive recovery after fall in Q4 GDP Thailand’s economy contracted sharply in the final quarter of last year as a strong recovery in the tourism sector was unable to compensate for weakness elsewhere. Looking beyond the weak fourth quarter …
The central bank of the Philippines (BSP) today raised its main policy rate by a further 50bps (to 6.00%) and increased its inflation forecast for this year significantly. We are revising our interest rate forecasts, and now expect two more 25bps hikes …
16th February 2023
Bank Indonesia (BI) kept its main policy rate unchanged today (at 5.75%) and signalled that further rate increases this year were unlikely. This supports our view that the tightening cycle has now come to an end. We expect the policy rate to remain on …
No more hikes this year Bank Indonesia (BI) kept its main policy rate unchanged today (at 5.75%), and signalled that further rate increases this year were unlikely. This supports our view that the tightening cycle has now come to an end. We expect the …
More tightening still to come The central bank of the Philippines (BSP) today raised its main policy rate by a further 50bps (to 6.00%), and we think more tightening is likely in the near term amid worries about high inflation. The decision was in line …
While Singapore’s government has framed today’s budget as being designed to help poorer households cope with a rise in the cost of living, the main macro impact is a tightening of fiscal policy at a time when the economy is already facing several …
14th February 2023
The economy slowed sharply in Q4 and we expect growth to remain tepid and well below-trend over the coming months as multi-decade high interest rates and weak global demand weigh on prospects. The revised estimate for Q4 GDP, published today, shows that …
13th February 2023
Philippines is the outlier In most of the region inflationary pressures are continuing to ease and central banks are preparing to bring tightening cycles to an end. (See here .) A key exception is the Philippines, where a jump in headline inflation to a …
10th February 2023
GDP contracted sharply in Q4 2022 and we think the economy will continue to struggle in the coming quarters as high interest rates, weak external demand and tepid consumption activity drag on prospects. Economic output fell by 2.6% q/q in Q4 after growing …
Economy set to struggle over the coming quarters The economy contracted sharply in the final quarter of last year and we think it will remain weak in the coming quarters as elevated interest rates, weak external demand and tepid consumption activity drag …
Economic growth in Indonesia slowed in the final quarter of last year and further weakness is likely as weak global demand, high inflation and elevated interest rates drag on activity. Today’s figures show that Indonesia grew by 5.0% y/y in Q4 2022, which …
6th February 2023
Further slowdown likely Economic growth in Indonesia slowed in the final quarter of last year and further weakness is likely as weak global demand, high inflation and elevated interest rates drag on activity. Today’s figures show that the economy expanded …
Weak start to the year in Korea Recent economic data from Korea paint a depressing picture. GDP figures published late last month showed the economy contracted by 0.4% q/q at the end of 2022 – the third worst quarterly performance since the Asian …
3rd February 2023
Manufacturing still downbeat and outlook remains bleak Manufacturing PMIs edged up slightly in January but remained subdued overall. We continue to expect weak global demand and elevated interest rates to drag on manufacturing activity in the coming …
1st February 2023
Asian currencies have continued to rebound against the US dollar over the past month, and most are now up by around 5-15% against the greenback since early November. Optimism around China’s reopening and expectations for a Fed policy pivot have been the …
30th January 2023
More encouraging than it looks This week’s headlines suggest that Pakistan is in the midst of a full-blown crisis. On Monday the central bank hiked its main policy rate by a further 100bps. Two days later the cap limiting daily moves in the rupee was …
27th January 2023
We held a Drop-In today to discuss the big economic and financial market development across Emerging Asia. (You can see an on-demand recording here .) This Update answers several of the questions that we received, some of which we couldn’t answer during …
26th January 2023
Inflation looks to have peaked across Emerging Asia, and is likely to fall back more sharply than most analysts expect over the coming year as fuel price inflation drops, the disruption from the pandemic eases and economic growth slows. With inflation …
Growth slowed in Q4 and we expect the economy to weaken further over the coming quarters against a backdrop of weak global demand, high interest rates and elevated inflation. According to the advanced estimate published today, GDP rose by 2.4% q/q in Q4 …
Growth set to weaken in 2023 Growth slowed in Q4, and we expect the economy to weaken further over the coming quarters against a backdrop of weak global demand, high interest rates and elevated inflation. According to the advanced estimate published …
Economic output fell in the final quarter of 2022, and we think the economy will continue to struggle over the coming year as high interest rates and weak overseas demand weigh on prospects. Our 2023 growth forecasts are well below the consensus. …
25th January 2023
Difficult year ahead Economic output fell in the final quarter of 2022, and we think the economy will continue to struggle over the coming year as high interest rates and weak overseas demand weigh on prospects. Our 2023 growth forecasts are well below …
The Bank of Thailand hiked interest rates today by a further 25bps (to 1.50%), and hinted that more rate hikes were likely in the near term amid worries about rising underlying price pressures. We expect one more 25bps increase this year before the …
More tightening still to come The Bank of Thailand hiked interest rates today by a further 25bps (to 1.50%), and hinted that the tightening cycle still has further to run. The decision was correctly predicted by 21 out of the 23 economists polled by …
Sri Lanka’s central bank (CBSL) kept interest rates unchanged today, and we expect it to leave rates on hold for the rest of the year as it aims to strike a fine balance between supporting a struggling economy and clamping down on high inflation. The …
Rates set to stay on hold in 2023 Sri Lanka’s central bank (CBSL) kept interest rates unchanged today and we expect it to leave rates on hold for the rest of the year as it aims to strike a fine balance between supporting a struggling economy and clamping …
Pakistan’s central bank (SBP) raised its policy rate today by a further 100bps (to 17.0%), and we expect more tightening over the coming months amid concerns about high inflation and the worsening external position. Interest rates have now been raised …
23rd January 2023
Further tightening on the cards Pakistan’s central bank (SBP) raised its policy rate today by a further 100bps (to 17.0%), and we expect more tightening over the coming months amid concerns about high inflation and the worsening external position. …
