Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Hawkish RBNZ will send New Zealand into recession The decision by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to lift its official cash rate by 50bp, to 5.25%, came as an upside surprise, but we still think the end of the hiking cycle is approaching. In any case... 5th April 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka: rates to stay unchanged in 2023 Sri Lanka’s central bank (CBSL) left interest rates unchanged today and we expect rates to stay on hold for the rest of the year as policymakers look to strike a balance between clamping down on... 4th April 2023 · 2 mins read
India Economics Update External vulnerabilities likely to ease The widening in India’s current account deficit last year, to 2.4% of GDP, was not as significant as many had feared in the context of the surge in commodity prices. Looking ahead, we think the... 4th April 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan: end of the tightening cycle Pakistan’s central bank (SBP) today raised its policy rate by a further 100bps (to 21.0%), but the tone of the statement was less hawkish than after previous meetings. While interest rates will need... 4th April 2023 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update RBA will deliver one final rate hike in May The Reserve Bank of Australia kept open the possibility of further tightening when it decided to leave its cash rate unchanged at 3.60% today. As such, we do still expect the RBA to deliver one final... 4th April 2023 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Rapid Response Reserve Bank of Australia Meeting (Apr. 23) 4th April 2023 · 2 mins read
China Chart Pack Uneven consumer recovery slowing down Consumer spending jumped during the first two months of the year as virus disruptions faded. The March retail sales data won’t be published for another couple of weeks. But the data we have so far... 3rd April 2023 · 11 mins read
Asia Economics Update Vietnam: expected rate cut, but further easing likely now Vietnam’s central bank lowered its benchmark refinancing rate by 50bp, on Friday evening, citing the need to support the economy. The rate cut was in line with our forecast and we now think the... 3rd April 2023 · 3 mins read
India Data Response Manufacturing PMI (Mar.) India’s manufacturing PMI reading edged up in March and points to healthy growth in the sector. This should provide some added source of comfort to the RBI to hike rates again this Thursday. But the... 3rd April 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs & Korea Trade (Mar.) Manufacturing PMIs in Emerging Asia dropped back in March, driven by a fall in the new export orders and employment sub-indices. With global growth set to remain weak in the coming quarters, we expect... 3rd April 2023 · 3 mins read
China Data Response Caixin Manufacturing PMI (Mar.) The Caixin manufacturing index was more downbeat than its official counterpart, especially when it came to export orders. Taken together, the surveys suggest that growth in factory activity dropped... 3rd April 2023 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia CoreLogic House Prices (Mar.) With housing affordability the most stretched it’s been since the global financial crisis, we don’t think the uptick in house prices in March will be sustained. We’re sticking to our forecast that... 3rd April 2023 · 3 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan BoJ Tankan (Q1 2023) Today’s Tankan survey suggests that while the services sector remains resilient, the outlook for the manufacturing sector has worsened materially. 3rd April 2023 · 3 mins read