Asia Data Response Manufacturing PMIs (May) The May PMIs for Emerging Asia continue to point to lacklustre conditions in Asia’s manufacturing sectors. In the two economies where the PMIs most closely track the hard data, Korea’s manufacturing... 1st June 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Asia well-placed to cope with the Fed’s next rate hikes The US Fed looks set to increase interest rates soon, possibly as early as its June meeting, and we think it will end up hiking more than is generally expected over the next couple of years. However... 26th May 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Could Asia’s central banks get unconventional? There have been a number of suggestions recently that some central banks in Emerging Asia, namely in Taiwan and Korea, might be about to adopt some of the unconventional policy measures that are being... 29th April 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Data Response Taiwan GDP (Q1 Advanced) Today’s GDP figures confirm that Taiwan’s economy is struggling badly, with GDP contracting by 0.8% y/y in the first quarter of the year. Given that policymakers are running out of room to stimulate... 29th April 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysian ringgit rebound continues Most currencies and equity markets are up so far this month. The Malaysian ringgit has continued to rebound strongly, but political uncertainty ahead of presidential elections in the Philippines is... 28th April 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Drought hits agricultural output in Thailand and Vietnam Vietnam and Thailand are facing their worst drought in decades, with water levels in the Mekong River at their lowest since 1926. The drought is already having an impact on growth. A decline in... 27th April 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Are Asia’s policymakers running out of fiscal firepower? Most governments in Emerging Asia have room to support their economies by loosening fiscal policy further in the event that growth continues to disappoint. However, there are a few countries, namely... 22nd April 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Export downturn set to drag on The export downturn that began over a year ago is showing little sign of coming to an end. A big part of the reason for the current weakness has been the slump in commodity prices. Even if commodity... 15th April 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Where do the risks lie? Financial markets across Emerging Asia have rebounded in recent months as investors have become more confident over the short-term economic outlook for the region. However, as we make clear in our... 8th April 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economic Outlook Tigers in trouble, but better prospects elsewhere The region’s original tiger economies, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea, are likely to struggle over the next couple of years against a backdrop of cooling credit growth, bursting property... 6th April 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Korean won leads the way Asian currencies continued their recovery in March, helped in part by fading fears of a sudden devaluation in the renminbi. 31st March 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Where next for Myanmar? Today’s handover from military to civilian rule in Myanmar marks another welcome step forward in the country’s political development. But the new government must overcome a number of major challenges... 30th March 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Taiwan approaching the limits of conventional monetary policy Taiwan’s central bank (CBC) cut its discount rate by 12.5 basis points to 1.50% today against a backdrop of very weak growth and low inflationary pressures. Further cuts to the discount rate are... 24th March 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Better times ahead for Asian currencies After a few years of heavy declines, Asian currencies have started to make up some lost ground against the US dollar. We think other forecasters are being too negative in expecting the region’s... 11th March 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Focus Life in the slow lane for Asia’s Tiger economies With productivity slowing and working age populations set to fall sharply, economic growth in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea is likely to average little more than 2% over the coming years... 8th March 2016 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Inflation to rise, but not by enough to worry policymakers Inflation looks to have bottomed out and is set to rise across most of Emerging Asia over the coming year. However, it will remain relatively low in most places, meaning central banks will be able to... 7th March 2016 · 1 min read