Asia Economics Update Korea: demographic drag worsening Figures released today highlight the dreadful demographic outlook facing Korea, with the population (excluding migrants) falling for a third year in a row. Poor demographics are the key reason why we... 22nd February 2023 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Focus Korea: recession and rate cuts The near-term economic outlook for Korea is very poor, with falling real incomes, problems in the housing market, and weak global demand all set to weigh on prospects this year. Our forecast is that... 21st February 2023 · 10 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank of Korea turns dovish as downturn worsens Despite the jump in inflation last month, the worsening activity data means the Bank of Korea is likely to leave interest rates unchanged at its February meeting. 3rd February 2023 · 7 mins read
Asia Data Response Korea GDP (Q4) Economic output fell in the final quarter of 2022, and we think the economy will continue to struggle over the coming year as high interest rates and weak overseas demand weigh on prospects. Our 2023... 25th January 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Rebounding won, Vietnam politics, dovish surprises The rebound in the won is unlikely to be welcomed by the country’s struggling exporters, but will come as a relief to the Bank of Korea, which had become worried that higher import prices would keep... 20th January 2023 · 12 mins read
Asia Economics Update Korea: tightening cycle over, rate cuts later this year The Bank of Korea today raised interest rates by a further 25bps (to 3.50%) and relatively dovish comments by Governor Rhee support our view that the tightening cycle is now over. With growth set to... 13th January 2023 · 3 mins read
Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs & Korea Trade (Dec.) Manufacturing PMIs across the region rose slightly in December but remained weak overall. We continue to expect weaker global demand, high inflation and interest rates to drag on manufacturing ahead. 3rd January 2023 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Exporters take a beating, worse still to come Recent trade data from Emerging Asia have been downbeat and, with the global economy heading for recession, worse is still to come. 23rd December 2022 · 12 mins read
Asia Economic Outlook Rate cuts in 2023 as growth slows Economic growth will slow sharply in most of the region in 2023 as higher interest rates and weaker exports drag on demand. Our GDP growth forecasts are below consensus in most countries. With... 13th December 2022 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BoK sounds dovish as inflation eases and growth slows A string of weak activity data, a sharp drop in inflation and dovish comments from the central bank support our view that the Bank of Korea’s tightening cycle is coming to an end soon. 2nd December 2022 · 6 mins read
Asia Chart Pack Consumer resilience unlikely to last Most countries in the region have now reported GDP figures for the third quarter, and growth was generally faster than we (and the consensus) had expected. One factor behind this resilience was the... 29th November 2022 · 15 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korean truckers on strike, Taiwan local elections The costs of a strike by Korean truck drivers – the second this year – are starting to mount, with steel and cement producers reporting disruption. A prolonged period of industrial action would be... 25th November 2022 · 7 mins read
Event EM Drop-In: Past peak inflation – what now for EM policymakers? 1669906800 Inflation appears to have finally peaked for emerging markets – but how quickly will price pressures now ease, and what will that mean for the 2023 outlook?