Asia Economics Update New Bank of Korea Governor in no hurry to hike The Bank of Korea (BoK) left its policy rate at 2.00% today, as expected. New BoK Governor Kim is sympathetic to the government view that monetary tightening can be delayed, while imminent elections... 9th April 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Politics will stay in the way of Korea rate hikes The Bank of Korea (BoK) left its policy rate at 2.00% today, as expected. BoK Governor Lee’s term ends this month and his replacement is likely to be sympathetic to the government view that monetary... 11th March 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economic Outlook Upswings to stay impressive for a while (Q1 10) The trade-dependent economies will eventually see slower GDP growth later this year and in 2011 as the global upswing loses momentum. But Asia’s rebound will not come to a complete halt and growth, by... 19th February 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Markets too aggressive on Korea hikes to come The Bank of Korea (BoK) left its policy rate at 2.00% today, as expected. Political pressures to hold off monetary tightening have intensified and we now expect the first increase to be delayed until... 11th February 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea's slowdown will be temporary Q4 GDP published overnight in Korea showed that growth eased to 0.2% q/q due to weaker exports and government spending. But the slowdown was inevitable after very strong GDP gains in Q2 and Q3. The... 26th January 2010 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea signals policy rate will move up soon The Bank of Korea (BoK) left its policy rate at 2.00% today, as expected. More importantly, the Governor’s press conference commentary was hawkish and suggests that an interest rate hike is not far... 10th December 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economic Outlook Decoupling is back (Q4 09) We expect the upswing in emerging Asia to stay relatively strong in coming quarters. The more trade-dependent economies will be held back by the long drawn-out recoveries that are likely in the US and... 24th November 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Markets too aggressive on Korean rate hikes to come The Bank of Korea (BoK) left its policy rate at 2.00% today. We believe the economic upswing is well established and that the political pressures on the BoK to hold rates low will probably ease early... 12th November 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korean economy still strong in early Q4 October data released over the last few days show that Korea’s economy retained much of its momentum going into Q4. Capacity use is back at pre-crisis levels and house prices are still rising. The... 2nd November 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korea’s strong recovery points to November policy rate hike Korea’s Q3 GDP, published overnight, surprised on the upside yet again. The economy is unlikely to grow so strongly in coming quarters but continued recovery is not in doubt. The Bank of Korea’s... 26th October 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korean rates set to stay low The Bank of Korea (BoK) left its policy rate unchanged today, as expected. Mortgage lending curbs are tackling property bubble concerns and core inflation will likely trend lower. Korea’s GDP recovery... 9th October 2009 · 1 min read
China Economics Update PMIs add to impression of Asian strength Asia’s PMI releases today add to the weight of evidence that Asia’s recovery has plenty of positive momentum. 1st October 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korean monetary tightening should be gradual The Bank of Korea (BoK) left its policy rate unchanged today. Property price concerns and improvements in the activity data have increased the chance that the BoK will raise rates sooner rather than... 10th September 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update PMIs point to continued momentum in emerging Asia The short histories and sketchy track records of PMIs in emerging Asia limit their usefulness as leading indicators. Nonetheless, they are increasingly closely-watched. Read alongside other recent... 1st September 2009 · 1 min read
China Economics Update PMIs point to continued momentum in emerging Asia 1st September 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korean policy rates set to stay low The Bank of Korea left its policy rate unchanged today. Economic recovery and concerns over incipient asset bubbles in the housing and equity markets have led some to expect policy rates to rise later... 11th August 2009 · 1 min read
