Emerging Markets Economics Update Surging food prices and supply fears a threat to EMs Most EMs are not heavily dependent on Russia or Ukraine for their domestic food supplies, but there are key pockets of vulnerability due to large wheat, corn and vegetable seed/oil exports to Turkey... 13th April 2022 · 4 mins read
India Economic Outlook Inflation will force the RBI’s hand The surge in global commodity prices will take a little gloss off India’s economic recovery this year but we still expect stronger GDP growth than the consensus. Higher commodity prices will also keep... 13th April 2022 · 19 mins read
China Data Response China Trade (Mar.) Goods trade dropped back sharply last month. While disruptions from the latest COVID-19 outbreak are partly to blame, shifts on the demand-side played a bigger role. 13th April 2022 · 3 mins read
India Data Response Consumer Prices (Mar.) & Industrial Production (Feb.) Headline consumer price inflation soared beyond even our above-consensus forecast in March and, given that it is likely to rise further over the coming months, we think the RBI will start hiking the... 12th April 2022 · 2 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Revisiting the case for Japanese equities The valuations of mid- and large-cap equities in Japan have become even more attractive compared to those of their US counterparts following a further period of substantial underperformance in common... 12th April 2022 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka suspends debt payments, pushes for IMF deal Sri Lanka’s decision today to suspend payments to bond holders is designed to pave the way for a deal with the IMF and an orderly rescheduling of its debts. The diverse array of creditors to Sri Lanka... 12th April 2022 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan: major challenges await new PM The main challenge facing Shehbaz Sharif, who today replaced Imran Khan as prime minister of Pakistan, is stabilising the economy. The key to achieving this is a deal with the IMF. The price for any... 11th April 2022 · 3 mins read
India Economics Update More thoughts on the RBI’s policy shift The RBI’s policy announcement and the introduction of the Standing Deposit Facility has prompted a number of questions from clients on its intended purpose and what it means for monetary policy. This... 11th April 2022 · 3 mins read
China Data Response China Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Mar.) Broad credit growth was much stronger than expected last month amid increased policy support. With more easing on the horizon, we expect a further acceleration although a sharp pick-up in lending... 11th April 2022 · 2 mins read
China Data Response China Consumer & Producer Prices (Mar.) Factory gate inflation picked up last month, though this was masked in the headline figures by base effects. Consumer prices continued to rise as well. Although the price of some goods will stay high... 11th April 2022 · 2 mins read
India Economics Weekly Russia relations, LIC IPO, RBI policy stance Relations between India and Russia came under fresh scrutiny this week. But tentative signs that India is beginning to tread more carefully suggest that discounted Russian commodities are now even... 8th April 2022 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Pakistan: PM Khan stumped, emergency hike by SBP In Pakistan, the week began with a constitutional crisis and it will likely end with a new Prime Minister at the helm following the Supreme Court ruling on Thursday. Prime Minister Khan’s successors... 8th April 2022 · 7 mins read
China Economics Weekly Housing market revival delayed by outbreak Prior to the latest COVID-19 outbreak, China’s housing market had appeared on the cusp of a rebound. But movement restrictions and weaker consumer confidence have since caused home sales to slump... 8th April 2022 · 7 mins read
India Economics Update RBI turning less accommodative The MPC’s unanimous decision to keep the repo rate unchanged at 4.00% today came as no surprise but the introduction of a new policy rate that sets a higher floor for the interest rate corridor... 8th April 2022 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Large current account surplus not a thing of the past Surging import prices and depressed services exports have shrunk down Japan’s current account surplus to near zero over the past year. However, we expect a large surplus to return over the next couple... 8th April 2022 · 5 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Inverted yield curves a poor signal for EM downturns While yield curves have inverted in a number of emerging markets (and look likely to do so in several others in the coming months), they don’t have a good track record in predicting recessions in the... 6th April 2022 · 4 mins read