Asia Economics Update Australia's economic weakness will not last long Today’s Q1 GDP data show that Australia’s economy contracted in early 2011 at its fastest pace since the 1991 recession. However, the weakness was down to local floods and Cyclone Yasi. Growth will... 1st June 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand's central bank to continue raising repo rate The Bank of Thailand (BoT) hiked its policy rate by 25bp to 3.0% today, as expected. The economy grew at an above-trend pace at the start of the year, while price pressures should continue to mount in... 1st June 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update India's growth is set to ease further, but only temporarily GDP numbers released today show that growth in India eased slightly in Q1 2011. We expect it to fall further in the first six months of this financial year, which runs from April 2011 to March 2012... 31st May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Growth in the Philippines likely to remain above-trend Q1 GDP for the Philippines, published today, showed that the economy continued to expand despite a significant fall in government spending. The big picture is that domestic demand remains robust... 30th May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Australia set for above-trend growth Australia’s Q1 GDP data will be released on Wednesday and are likely to show that the economy contracted in early 2011. However, the weakness was mainly down to local floods and Cyclone Yasi. Growth... 30th May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Growth remains strong in Emerging Asia Q1 GDP data out so far across Asia confirm that most economies have been growing at or above their trend pace. Strong growth has left little spare capacity in many economies and core inflation... 27th May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Inflation still uncomfortably high in Asia April price data show that inflation is highest (and is still rising) in Vietnam while it is lowest in Taiwan. Looking ahead, global commodity prices are likely to put downward pressure on headline... 23rd May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Thailand’s strong growth to bring more policy tightening Today’s Q1 GDP data for Thailand show that the economy grew at a faster q/q pace at the start of this year, as expected. Growth in the coming quarters should be supported by strengthening domestic... 23rd May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Pakistan’s central bank looking for fiscal reforms to deliver In a move that was widely anticipated, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) left its policy rate unchanged at 14.0% over the weekend. The upcoming FY2011-12 budget and subsequent fiscal developments will... 23rd May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand set for a prolonged fiscal tightening Despite 2011 being an election year, New Zealand’s government today announced a budget with few giveaways. The aim to move back into a surplus by 2014-15 will be tough to achieve, especially if... 19th May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia set for above-trend growth Malaysia’s economy grew at a slightly slower pace at the start of the year, which surprised the consensus but was in-line with our view. Strengthening domestic demand should mean that growth picks up... 18th May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Latest data keeps pressure on Reserve Bank of India Headline inflation fell slightly in April but is likely to rise again in the coming few months. Meanwhile, indicators of activity suggest economic growth in India is still rapid. The upshot is that we... 16th May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka's central bank biding its time The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) left its interest rates unchanged today, as was widely anticipated. Nonetheless, policy settings were tightened in April and more rate hikes look only a matter of... 16th May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Vietnam needs to remain in tightening mode Policymakers in Vietnam have been busy so far this year tackling the risk of the economy overheating. Nonetheless, policy settings were left too loose for too long and recent data show that broad... 16th May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea's central bank has more work to do The Bank of Korea (BoK) unexpectedly held its policy rate at 3.0% today. Nonetheless, GDP growth has picked up to an above-trend pace, while core inflation looks set to climb further. We still believe... 13th May 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia policy rates to rise soon Today’s decision by Bank Indonesia (BI) to hold its reference rate steady at 6.75% was anticipated given recent downside surprises in headline inflation. However, core inflation continues to climb... 12th May 2011 · 1 min read
