Asia Economics Weekly Time to worry about inflation? The recent jump in energy prices will put upward pressure on inflation across the region, but the impact should prove short lived and is unlikely to worry policymakers. 8th October 2021 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea still on for another hike in 2021 Korean consumer prices saw another strong m/m rise last month, and while we don’t think this is a major cause for concern it still adds weight to our view that the central bank will hike rates again... 6th October 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Data Response Korea Trade (Sep.) Korean export values remained close to an all-time high in September and look to have provided a decent boost to growth over the quarter as a whole. 1st October 2021 · 2 mins read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Sep.) While regional PMIs showed that the disruption from large virus waves in the region is easing somewhat, unmet orders continue to pile up, meaning that the resulting shortages further down supply... 1st October 2021 · 2 mins read
Asia Chart Pack Asian central banks in little rush to raise rates Over the past month or so, the central banks of Korea, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have all raised interest rates, but we don’t think other countries will be in any rush to follow suit. There is certainly... 29th September 2021 · 15 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Lat Am leads the EM tightening cycle Several EM central banks have raised interest rates in the past couple of months on the back of growing inflation concerns (including many in Latin America) and/or strong economic recoveries (parts of... 23rd September 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Data Response Korea Trade (1st - 20th Sep.) Korean export values are set to have another strong month in September. Large backlogs of orders are likely to keep exporters busy for many months to come. 23rd September 2021 · 2 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Chart Pack Debt risks come back to the fore Problems at Evergrande in China have dominated the headlines recently, but (sovereign) debt risks are brewing in other EMs too. Concerns about higher government spending and rising public debt levels... 21st September 2021 · 9 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Focus The pandemic and EM scarring risks The pandemic is likely to inflict lasting damage on potential growth in economies in much of Latin America, Africa and South and Southeast Asia, adding to the structural headwinds that they already... 9th September 2021 · 17 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea spending boost, Malaysia rate meeting Korea’s proposed budget for 2022 indicates that fiscal policy will remain supportive next year. This should give the BoK added reassurance that the economy will be able to withstand further rate hikes... 3rd September 2021 · 5 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM current account balances: where do the risks lie? With external positions in decent shape in most major EMs, the macroeconomic fallout from any tightening of external financing conditions should be limited. But there are a handful of EMs which look... 2nd September 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Data Response Korea Trade (August) Having flattened off in previous months, exports saw a renewed rise in August. While this is unlikely to mark the start of another surge, we still expect exports to remain elevated over the coming... 1st September 2021 · 2 mins read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (Aug.) Falling output indices in Korea and Taiwan suggest that the virus disruption in South East Asia is reverberating across the region. The end of supply chain shortages continues to slip further out of... 1st September 2021 · 2 mins read
Asia Chart Pack Exports won’t come to the rescue in H2 Q2 GDP data released over the past month or so did not show a repeat of the across-the-board rises in exports seen in previous quarters, but the external sector still proved an important prop to GDP... 31st August 2021 · 13 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly South East Asia: hit from Delta will be slow to fade There are some signs that the Delta outbreak battering South East Asia is at least past its worst. But a rapid turnaround in the region’s economic fortunes looks unlikely. 27th August 2021 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea to continue tightening into 2022 We were among the first forecasters to call that the Bank of Korea (BoK) would begin tightening monetary policy this year and it duly delivered today, raising the policy rate by 25bps to 0.75%. Given... 26th August 2021 · 4 mins read