Asia Economics Weekly How will the disaster in Japan affect the region? There is no doubt that Japan has suffered a human tragedy, and we extend our deepest sympathies to those affected. The resulting economic impact on the rest of Asia-Pacific will be varied across... 21st March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Reserve Bank raises rates as core inflation rises The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the repo rate by 25bp to 6.75% today, as expected. In response to the RBI’s concerns about core inflation, we have revised our rate hike expectations upwards to 7... 17th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly India to raise repo rate despite falling inflation We expect the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to hikes its key policy rates on Thursday. However, the spike in food prices appears to be unwinding, while recent activity figures have been weak. These... 14th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank Negara shifts back into tightening mode Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) left its policy rate unchanged at 2.75% today, in line with the consensus view but contrary to our expectations of a hike. Nonetheless, BNM resumed policy tightening by... 11th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update New Zealand's cash rate to rise sooner than markets expect The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) yesterday cut its cash rate by 50bp to 2.5% in response to last month’s devastating earthquake in Christchurch. The RBNZ made it clear that it intends to stay in... 11th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea’s central bank has more work to do The Bank of Korea (BoK) lifted its policy rate by 25bp to 3.0% today, as was universally anticipated. Policymakers are rightly focused on tackling local price pressures, which are not solely due to... 10th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update More Bank of Thailand tightening to come The Bank of Thailand (BoT) raised its policy rate by 25bp to 2.5% today, as expected. As with elsewhere across the region, keeping a lid on inflation is the key concern for policymakers. We expect... 9th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Vietnam aims for a comprehensive policy shift The decision of Vietnam’s central bank to raise both the refinancing and discount rates to 12% today (from 11% and 7% respectively) was in line with the recent top-level directive to get a grip on... 8th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka rates likely to move up later this year The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) kept its policy rates unchanged at today’s meeting, as expected. The economy looks set for another year of above-trend growth, while inflation has already begun to... 8th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank of Thailand set to hike again The Bank of Thailand (BoT) announces its policy rate decision on Wednesday and we expect the repo rate to be hiked by 25bp for the third meeting in a row, to 2.5%. The economy is strengthening and... 7th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank Indonesia's pause will be short-lived Bank Indonesia (BI) paused the tightening initiated last month, leaving the reference rate unchanged at 6.75%. But today’s pause will probably be brief, given that underlying growth has remained... 4th March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia's mining boom to bring above-trend growth Australia’s economy grew at a faster pace at the end of last year than in Q3, as expected. Recent natural disasters will lower GDP in this quarter but the outlook is positive. Growth should accelerate... 2nd March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Asia's industrial sector gathering momentum Manufacturing PMIs for February, released overnight and today, improved in India, Singapore and Australia and stayed above the key 50 level which signals expansion in Taiwan. Factory output looks set... 1st March 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Oil prices compound inflation concerns Markets are concerned that rising oil prices will lift inflation and hit economic growth in Asia. Relative to their economies, Korea and Taiwan are the biggest net oil importers within the region but... 28th February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update India's budget targets look hard to achieve The Indian budget, passed today, aims to bring the deficit down to 4.6% of GDP in 2011/12. We judge that this will be difficult to achieve, primarily because the planned expenditure reduction looks... 28th February 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Australia's central bank still likely to hike this year The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is virtually certain to keep its cash rate on hold at 4.75% on Tuesday. Low inflation, sluggish household spending, and the uncertainty created by the recent... 28th February 2011 · 1 min read
