Japan Economics Weekly Hospitals under pressure, PM Suga looking vulnerable While daily cases have shown tentative signs of levelling off in recent days, severe cases will continue to rise sharply for a while yet so the threat of tighter restrictions on economic activity... 13th August 2021 · 8 mins read
Asia Data Response Malaysia GDP (Q2) Malaysia’s economy shrank by less than most had expected last quarter and while a further worsening in the virus situation means the immediate outlook is poor, rapid progress on vaccination has set... 13th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Slow vaccine progress will delay return to normality Slow vaccine rollouts mean the economic disruption from COVID-19 is likely to last well into next year in many countries. There are a few exceptions though. In particular, Singapore has already... 13th August 2021 · 7 mins read
India Economics Weekly Vaccine rollout struggling for momentum Concerns continue to build over a new virus wave in India and adding to the worry is the sluggish pace of the vaccine rollout. The government has this week taken steps to boost supply, but they are... 13th August 2021 · 4 mins read
OPEC Watch OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (Aug.) OPEC’s oil production soared in July as Saudi Arabia unwound the bulk of its voluntary output cut. Although OPEC left its demand forecast unchanged, we think that the near-term demand outlook has... 12th August 2021 · 3 mins read
India Data Response Consumer Prices (Jul.) & Industrial Production (Jun.) India’s consumer price inflation dropped below the 6% upper limit of the RBI’s target range in July, and we think further falls are likely. With the economy also still weak, there should be little... 12th August 2021 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Philippines central bank to cut rates in September The Philippines’ central bank (BSP) left its main policy rate on hold at 2.00% today, but with inflation fears receding, more rate cuts to support the beleaguered economy are likely soon. 12th August 2021 · 3 mins read
China Data Response China Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Jul.) After stabilising in June, broad credit growth resumed its downward trajectory in July and is now at its slowest since February last year. We expect the slowdown and resulting headwind to the economy... 11th August 2021 · 2 mins read
RBNZ Watch RBNZ set to hike rates by 50 basis points The New Zealand economy is clearly overheating and the Bank’s mandates for both inflation and the labour market are now fulfilled. We therefore expect the RBNZ to hike the OCR by 50bps at its upcoming... 11th August 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Data Response Philippines GDP (Q2) The Philippines’ chances of a strong economic rebound from the contraction recorded in Q2 are looking slim given the new surge in virus cases and the reimposition of containment measures. The... 10th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update Lower China commodity imports here to stay The latest trade data out of China adds to the evidence that demand growth in the world’s key commodity consumer is slowing. This supports our view that the broad-based rally in commodity prices from... 9th August 2021 · 2 mins read
China Data Response China Inflation / Trade (Jul.) Rising factory gate prices for electronics products signal that supply chains are still tight but, with both semiconductor imports to China and China’s exports of electronics rising over the past... 9th August 2021 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Baht to weaken further as external deficit widens The worsening prospects for the Thai economy and the shift in the current account from a huge surplus to a sizeable deficit mean the Thai baht is likely to weaken further over the coming year. 6th August 2021 · 3 mins read
China Economics Delta disruption spreads as vaccine exports soar Escalating efforts to contain China’s first Delta variant outbreak will hurt some sectors of the economy. But if they are as successful as they have been in the past, the overall damage will be... 6th August 2021 · 8 mins read
India Economics Update RBI in no rush to tighten policy The Reserve Bank kept the repo rate on hold at a record low today and announced plans to ramp up government bond purchases on the secondary market, underlining its commitment to supporting the... 6th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBNZ may hike rates by 50 basis points in two weeks The tightening in the labour market back to pre-virus levels in Q2 is further evidence that the New Zealand economy is now overheating. As such, the financial markets are right in anticipating a rate... 6th August 2021 · 4 mins read
