Japan Data Response Japan Industrial Production (Feb 2022) Industrial production was broadly unchanged in February after two monthly falls that still left output well below its pre-supply shortages peak. 31st March 2022 · 2 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Frontier debt risks are crystallising The tightening of global financial conditions since the onset of the Fed’s hiking cycle and the war in Ukraine has caused sovereign dollar bond spreads to widen significantly in several frontier... 30th March 2022 · 3 mins read
RBI Watch Growth-focussed MPC will need to tighten before long Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, MPC members have emphasised the need for monetary policy to mitigate the downside risks to economic growth. It therefore seems likely that interest rates will... 30th March 2022 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Update Thailand: rates to stay low despite inflation worries The Bank of Thailand (BoT) left interest rates unchanged at its meeting today and suggested that it would continue to look through a temporary rise in inflation to support the economic recovery. We... 30th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Japan Economic Outlook BoJ’s Yield Curve Control under threat We expect Japan’s economic output to return to its pre-virus path by the end of the year. With the recovery from the pandemic complete, we expect GDP growth to slow from 2.7% this year to just 1.0% in... 30th March 2022 · 23 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan Retail Sales (Feb. 2022) Retail sales dropped again in February, making it almost certain that consumer spending fell across Q1. Looking into Q2 though, private consumption is well set for a strong, booster-boosted rebound. 30th March 2022 · 2 mins read
Asia Chart Pack Omicron recedes, but other headwinds emerge Successful vaccination campaigns allowed governments to keep economies open during the recent Omicron waves, and our Mobility Trackers suggest that activity held up much better than we had originally... 29th March 2022 · 15 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Loose fiscal policy adds pressure on RBA to hike rates With the government facing defeat in May’s election, today’s Budget continued the course of loose fiscal policy that began at the start of the pandemic. As the unemployment rate is set to fall to a 50... 29th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Update Cracks appearing in Yield Curve Control It hasn’t failed yet but the Bank of Japan’s need to return repeatedly this week to defend the ceiling of its yield target suggests that cracks are appearing in the structure of Yield Curve Control... 29th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan Labour Market (Feb. 2022) Employment was unchanged in February after January’s sizeable fall. But with all domestic restrictions since lifted and activity resuming its recovery, employment is set for a strong rebound over the... 29th March 2022 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly More dovish signals from South East Asia Dovish comments from policymakers over the past week support our view that central banks in South East Asia will buck the trend of global tightening and leave interest rates unchanged over the coming... 25th March 2022 · 7 mins read
India Economics Weekly Rupee-ruble exchange, virus restrictions lifted Indian authorities are in advanced discussions with their Russian counterparts over a rupee-ruble exchange system that would enable the two countries to continue trading even as Russia gets blocked... 25th March 2022 · 4 mins read
China Economics Weekly Omicron continues to take a toll Virus cases remain elevated and although authorities appear to be identifying and isolating a rising share of infections, new outbreaks are still popping up in parts of the country. The resulting... 25th March 2022 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Support measures won’t prevent inflation reaching 2% The government is preparing fresh support measures to lower prices of petroleum products, which will reduce the drag on household incomes and will prevent inflation from breaching 2% for now. We still... 25th March 2022 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Update Singapore reopening will add to inflationary pressures Yesterday’s easing of virus restrictions in Singapore exceeded what we had expected, and now means the risks to our above-consensus growth forecast of 4.0% this year are to the upside. The measures... 25th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Activity Monitor Clouds gathering over the near-term outlook Activity in large parts of the emerging world has rebounded following the easing of Omicron waves, but the war in Ukraine has caused the growth outlook for most EMs to worsen again. While commodity... 24th March 2022 · 2 mins read