Asia Economics Update Philippines: central bank in no rush to tighten The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) left its main policy rate on hold at 2.00% today and will be in little hurry to tighten policy in the months ahead, with supporting the economic recovery set... 24th March 2022 · 2 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan Flash PMIs (Mar. 2022) The March flash manufacturing PMI suggests that the war in Ukraine has intensified supply chain disruption for firms. By contrast, activity in the services sector bounced back and should continue to... 24th March 2022 · 2 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack War in Ukraine to drag on EM GDP growth The war in Ukraine will have several economic repercussions for the emerging world. We have lowered our aggregate EM GDP growth forecast for 2022 by 1%-pt, to 3.2%. Russia aside, the biggest downward... 23rd March 2022 · 9 mins read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka running out of options Sri Lanka has no easy choices left as it looks to dig itself out of its economic mess. Outright default or a financing deal with China remain options, but the government appears to be favouring an... 23rd March 2022 · 4 mins read
FX Markets Update We expect some further yen weakness amid rising US yields Our expectation that US Treasury yields will rise further leads us to conclude that the yen will weaken more against the dollar and we have revised up our end-year USD/JPY forecasts for both 2022 and... 22nd March 2022 · 3 mins read
China Activity Monitor A stronger start to 2022 gives way to fresh weakness Our China Activity Proxy (CAP) suggests that the economy started the year on a stronger footing than it ended 2021. But these gains are already being derailed by China’s worst virus outbreak since... 22nd March 2022 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus Can EMs weather Fed tightening? For the most part, EMs are well placed to withstand rising US interest rates, but there are pockets of vulnerability where external financing needs are significant. Among the large EMs, Turkey... 22nd March 2022 · 13 mins read
Asia Economics Update Strong Asian export data, but will it last? Taiwan new export orders picked up again in February, but we don’t expect this strength to continue as high oil prices start to weigh on consumer spending around the world. Meanwhile, the risks to... 21st March 2022 · 2 mins read
Japan Chart Pack Tightening would require wage growth of at least 2% Governor Kuroda admitted last week that inflation could hit the Bank of Japan’s 2% target in April but stressed that “that in no way signifies there will be a revision of our current monetary policy”... 21st March 2022 · 10 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Migration revival won’t let RBA off the hook Migration is rebounding much faster after the border reopening than we had anticipated. While that will slow the decline in the unemployment rate, the labour market is already historically tight and... 21st March 2022 · 3 mins read
China Economics Weekly Liu reassures market, lockdowns to stay targeted Liu He's promise this week to be more considerate to market investors in how new policies are communicated and implemented doesn't constitute a fundamental change of direction. Meanwhile, the risk of... 18th March 2022 · 5 mins read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Saudi, China and renminbi oil sales Were Saudi Arabia to accept renminbi for its oil exports to China, it would be a symbolic move but it would also run into a number of economic practicalities, especially given that the Kingdom could... 18th March 2022 · 4 mins read
India Economics Weekly Wheat exports, inflation jump, loan moratorium expiry India's wheat exports have soared recently and stand to benefit further from the shock to global supply caused by the war in Ukraine. But the consequences for India's external position will be small... 18th March 2022 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea COVID surge, Thai baht to weaken Despite surging cases of COVID-19 in Korea, the economy appears to be holding up well. We are sticking with our view that the central bank will resume its tightening cycle in April. Meanwhile, the... 18th March 2022 · 6 mins read
Japan Economics Update BoJ won’t tighten even as inflation reaches 2% target The Bank of Japan kept policy settings unchanged today and signalled that it is more worried about the negative impact of higher commodity prices on activity than about inflation spiralling out of... 18th March 2022 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Supply chain disruption could take the gloss off Q2 All domestic restrictions will be removed on Monday after two-and-a-half months of quasi-states of emergency covering most of the economy. Our assumption is that Japan – as PM Kishida hopes – will now... 18th March 2022 · 4 mins read
