Asia Economics Weekly Korean consumer weakness, SBP to sound hawkish Korea’s GDP figures published this week show that, although the economy held up relatively well last quarter, the recovery is becoming increasingly lobsided. Exports have been strong, but domestic... 26th January 2024 · 9 mins read
Asia Rapid Response Korea GDP (Q4) Economic growth in Korea held up better than expected in Q4 but we expect the economy to grow below trend over the next couple of quarters as export growth softens in near term while tight fiscal and... 24th January 2024 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea: rise in female participation rate a welcome sign Korea’s December labour market report published earlier this week show the country is making welcome progress in bringing more women into the formal labour force. Unfortunately, however, this recent... 12th January 2024 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Update Dovish signals from the BoK supports case for early rate cuts The Bank of Korea left its policy rate on hold today (at 3.5%), but struck a more dovish tone than after previous meetings. With inflation on the way down and growth likely to struggle over the coming... 11th January 2024 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BoK meeting, Philippines inflation, Asian elections The Bank of Korea looks almost certain to leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Thursday. But with inflation falling and concerns about the economy mounting, we expect the central bank to... 5th January 2024 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Update Manufacturing PMIs & Korean trade (December) The December PMIs for most economies in Emerging Asia stood well inside contractionary territory. The outlook for manufacturing in the region remains bleak in the near term as elevated inventory... 2nd January 2024 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Falling fertility rates in Korea; BSP on hold The fertility rate in Korea fell to a record low of just 0.7 births per woman in the third quarter of this year – the lowest in the world. The country’s dreadful demographic outlook is the key reason... 8th December 2023 · 7 mins read
Asia Economic Outlook Policy easing coming sooner than most expect Economic growth in most of Emerging Asia is likely to slow in the near term as weak global demand and high interest rates weigh on prospects. With growth set to struggle and inflation likely to ease... 7th December 2023 · 32 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Weak data from Korea; Indonesia and Pakistan elections This week’s data dump from Korea suggests the economy weakened at the start of Q4, supporting our view that the tightening cycle is over and that interest rate cuts could come onto the agenda soon. 1st December 2023 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea: rate cuts likely in mid-2024 The Bank of Korea (BoK) today left its policy rate unchanged (at 3.5%) for a seventh consecutive meeting, and hinted that interest rates would remain elevated as it continues to clamp down on... 30th November 2023 · 3 mins read
Global Markets Update What’s going on in Asia’s bond and FX markets? We think the yields of long-dated local-currency government bonds in Asia will generally fall further by the end of next year, and that most regional currencies will continue to make ground against... 23rd November 2023 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea inflation concerns, rates to stay high in Pakistan Headline inflation in Korea rose again last month, but with the core rate dropping back and central bank officials becoming increasingly concerned about the outlook for growth, we expect the BoK to... 3rd November 2023 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Update Manufacturing PMIs & Korean trade The October PMIs for Emerging Asia generally dropped back further inside contractionary territory. The outlook for manufacturing in the region remains bleak in the near term as elevated inventory... 1st November 2023 · 2 mins read
Asia Rapid Response Korea GDP (Q3) Economic growth in Korea was stronger than expected in Q3 but we think the economy is set to weaken in the near term as support from external demand fades while tight fiscal and monetary policy... 26th October 2023 · 3 mins read
