Asia Economics Update Korean rates to stay on hold for a while yet The Bank of Korea (BoK) kept its policy rate unchanged at a record low of 1.50% today, despite talk of a fresh round of "currency wars" across Asia following the People's Bank of China's decision to... 13th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Talk of a fresh round of Asian "currency wars" is overblown The second downward revision to the People‘s Bank of China‘s daily reference rate for the renminbi has today intensified talk that a fresh round of “currency wars“ is about to sweep across Asia. We... 12th August 2015 · 1 min read
India Economics Update No need to panic over rupee sell-off The rupee has depreciated to its weakest level since the 2013 "taper tantrum" this morning, but we don't think that this will cause panic among policymakers. Since the start of the year, the rupee has... 12th August 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Spillovers to EMs from renminbi “devaluation” limited The decision by the People’s Bank of China to reduce the daily reference rate for the renminbi has generated plenty of headlines about spillovers to other EMs. In practice, however, we think that... 11th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Singapore GDP (Q2 Revised) The revised estimate of Singapore’s Q2 GDP confirmed that the economy contracted sharply last quarter. Given that Singapore’s economy is highly volatile, the Q2 contraction is not, on its own, cause... 11th August 2015 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Malaysia Monthly Palm Oil Data (Jul.) Data released earlier today by Malaysia’s Palm Oil Board show that crude palm oil production in July reached its highest monthly level since October last year. Stocks also rose sharply, adding to... 10th August 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Winners and losers from the latest commodity collapse Of the major EMs, the biggest losers from the most recent fall in commodity prices have been Russia, Nigeria and Colombia, while the biggest winners have been Korea, India and Thailand. A similar... 7th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Singapore at 50: facing life after the miracle As Singapore celebrates its 50th anniversary since independence on 9th August, it can look back on a half-century in which it achieved enormous economic success. However, the country goes into its... 7th August 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Emerging Market Consumer Snapshot (Q3 2015) The falls in commodity prices over the past year have caused consumer spending to slow in many commodity-exporting countries, with Russia and Brazil being hit particularly hard. Only consumers in... 6th August 2015 · 1 min read
India Economics Update Base effects to drag down inflation Large base effects are likely to have dragged down inflation in July. The Reserve Bank has stated that it will be looking through base effects over the coming months when making policy decisions... 6th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Too soon to call the end of Thailand’s easing cycle The Bank of Thailand’s (BoT) kept its policy rate on hold at 1.5% today, but with the economy still struggling for momentum, we think it is still too early to call the end of the easing cycle. We... 5th August 2015 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Indonesia GDP (Q2) Indonesia's economy recorded another quarter of weak growth in Q2, again showing the negative effects of lower commodity prices. If, as we expect, there is no improvement in the second half of the... 5th August 2015 · 1 min read
EM Markets Chart Pack Another bad month for EM currencies Emerging market (EM) currencies suffered more heavy losses in the past month and while further big falls are hard to justify over a medium term horizon, there could be more downside in the near term... 4th August 2015 · 1 min read
India Economics Update RBI's rate-cutting cycle not over yet The Reserve Bank of India's decision to keep interest rates on hold today does not signal the end of the current loosening cycle. We are forecasting one more 25bp cut in this cycle, which would bring... 4th August 2015 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM manufacturing still subdued, Central Europe a bright spot July’s PMIs, published earlier today, showed that manufacturers across much of the emerging world struggled last month. The one bright spot was Central Europe, where the surveys improved in spite of... 3rd August 2015 · 1 min read
India Data Response Manufacturing PMI (Jul.) India’s manufacturing PMI increased in July, but conditions are still subdued by past standards. Looking ahead, with progress on creating a favourable business environment remaining slow, a sustained... 3rd August 2015 · 1 min read
