Asia Economics Focus Presidential election a watershed moment for Korea Korea’s presidential election on 9 th March will have major implications for the country’s economic future. A pledge by the ruling DPK’s candidate to introduce a universal basic income could bring... 3rd March 2022 · 15 mins read
China Economics Update China stands to lose not gain from war in Ukraine As Russia becomes increasingly isolated, it will lean more heavily on China as a trading partner. That will present some opportunities for Chinese firms to take market-share from western suppliers and... 2nd March 2022 · 6 mins read
India Data Response Manufacturing PMI (Feb.) India’s manufacturing PMI rebounded in February as the Omicron outbreak subsided and containment measures were scaled back. But the threat of a continued rise in commodity prices as a result of the... 2nd March 2022 · 2 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM industry holds up, but war in Ukraine a major risk February's manufacturing PMIs point to decent industrial growth last month and support our view that the impact from Omicron waves on EM industry will be limited. However, the surveys suggest that... 1st March 2022 · 2 mins read
Commodities China’s PMIs point to subdued demand China’s PMIs ticked up a little in February, but the big picture is that economic growth remains lacklustre in part owing to measures to contain COVID-19. The subdued demand picture confirms that the... 1st March 2022 · 2 mins read
China Data Response China PMIs (Feb.) The surveys suggest that the pace of economic growth edged up slightly in February. But it remains weak amid continued supply shortages, higher imported inflation, and persistent disruption to... 1st March 2022 · 3 mins read
China Chart Pack Renminbi strength a headache for the PBOC As well as a geopolitical quagmire for China’s leadership, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has become a headache for the PBOC. It has been signalling its dissatisfaction with the strength of the renminbi... 28th February 2022 · 12 mins read
India Data Response GDP (Q4) Indian GDP data for Q4 (Q3 of FY21/22) show that economic growth was slowing before the Omicron wave hit. That outbreak will have caused activity to weaken further in the early stages of Q1. But with... 28th February 2022 · 2 mins read
Asia Chart Pack How will central banks respond to rising oil prices? The recent jump in oil prices poses a significant upside risk to our inflation and interest rate forecasts for this year. Central banks would normally “look through” a one-off jump in the price level... 28th February 2022 · 14 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan Retail Sales & Industrial Production (Jan. 2022) The falls in both retail sales and industrial production in January confirm that the Omicron surge has knocked back the recovery. We think consumer spending will fall across this quarter, but it... 28th February 2022 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Oil prices and inflation, zero-COVID holdouts The main channel through which Asia will be affected by the crisis in Ukraine is higher oil prices. We are sticking with our non-consensus view that most countries in Asia will leave interest rates on... 25th February 2022 · 8 mins read
China Economics Weekly What to expect from the NPC Some tips for interpreting the economic plans that will be revealed at the National People’s Congress next Saturday: If you want to know what officials think about the outlook, focus less on the real... 25th February 2022 · 6 mins read
India Economics Weekly Ukraine crisis generates inflation and external risks The key channel through which the crisis in Ukraine will impact India's economy is higher oil prices. If sustained, higher prices would harm real incomes and dampen the economic recovery, which the... 25th February 2022 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Fossil fuel reliance, Japanese banks in Russia The recent spike in energy prices has highlighted just how reliant Japan still is on imported energy. Renewable energy production will need to be ramped up significantly to shield the economy from... 25th February 2022 · 6 mins read
China Economics Update China won’t hurt itself to help Russia China’s leadership is trying to straddle a geopolitical divide. Russia is an ally, but being seen to take its side would hasten China’s decoupling from the West. Most likely, China will support Russia... 24th February 2022 · 3 mins read
India Economics Update Mapping out the public debt trajectory Worries about India’s public debt trajectory have been growing since the Finance Ministry announced an accommodative Budget for FY22/23. But under reasonable assumptions for nominal GDP and interest... 24th February 2022 · 5 mins read
