China Economics Weekly Preparing for reopening will take time Officials have made clear that they are sticking with the zero-COVID policy for now. There are some signs that they are becoming more serious about removing the main roadblocks to reopening –... 18th November 2022 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Weak yen and COVID not to blame for Q3 GDP fall Q3 saw a surprise contraction in GDP that many media outlets blamed on the surge in virus cases and the slide in the yen’s value during the quarter. We think instead that the real culprits were a... 18th November 2022 · 4 mins read
India Economics Weekly Signs of domestic demand softening There are signs in the latest data that domestic demand is softening, though not to the extent that it should raise alarm at the central bank. This reinforces our view that the tightening cycle still... 18th November 2022 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Wage growth still not a major driver of price pressures Even though wage growth surpassed 3% for the first time since 2012 last quarter, and unemployment is back at a record low, the tight labour market has not been a major driver of the recent surge in... 18th November 2022 · 5 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan Consumer Prices (Oct. 2022) Headline inflation set a new three-decade high in October on aggressive rises in food inflation excluding fresh food and will remain near those highs this quarter. That said, government support... 18th November 2022 · 2 mins read
China Economics Update More policy action needed to revive property sector Recent policy announcements have raised hopes that the property downturn may be coming to an end. But while the measures made public so far reduce some of the downside risks by giving developers and... 17th November 2022 · 4 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan External Trade (Oct. 2022) The trade deficit widened but stayed below the record high in August, but with the yen strengthening significantly in recent weeks, the deficit should narrow later this quarter. 17th November 2022 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia: major challenges await new PM Malaysia heads to the polls on Saturday for a general election which, if the latest opinion polls are correct, will lead to a further period of unstable and fractured politics. This reduces the... 16th November 2022 · 5 mins read
RBNZ Watch Rates will peak at 5.0% but will be cut by end-2023 With the labour market and inflation going from strength to strength and the next meeting three months away, we expect the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to hike the overnight cash rate by 75bp at its... 16th November 2022 · 7 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan Machinery Orders (Sep. 2022) Weakness in the manufacturing sector led to “core” machinery orders falling for a second consecutive month in September. Worse still, machine tool orders indicate that the two-month losing streak... 16th November 2022 · 2 mins read
China Data Response China Activity & Spending (Oct.) The October data point to a further loss of momentum, with retail sales dropping sharply amid worsening virus outbreaks. November is shaping up to be even worse. With exports cooling, the property... 15th November 2022 · 3 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan GDP (Q3 2022 Preliminary) Japan’s economy contracted in Q3, with private consumption and business investment posting far weaker results than timelier data had suggested. Growth should turn positive in Q4, amid a rebound in... 15th November 2022 · 3 mins read