Asia Economics Update Malaysia: rates on hold until 2023 Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) left interest rates unchanged at 1.75%, and won’t be in any rush to adjust rates soon. Although the economy should start to rebound now that virus restrictions are being... 9th September 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Singapore struggling to live with COVID Singapore’s decision to reimpose some restrictions despite the country’s rapid vaccine rollout raises questions about its long-term strategy of living with COVID-19. The government’s caution will hold... 8th September 2021 · 3 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
Asia Economics Update Shortages to remain a drag on global manufacturing There are growing signs that global demand for Asian consumer goods has peaked. Despite this, supply shortages look set to persist for some time amid growing evidence that surging virus cases across... 20th August 2021 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia: major challenges await new PM Malaysia’s new prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, takes over an economy poised to rebound strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic. But the new government looks ill-equipped to deal with the many long... 20th August 2021 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka: more hikes to come The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) hiked interest rates today to help support the currency. With the rupee likely to remain under downward pressure over the coming months, further rate hikes are... 19th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia: rates set for prolonged hold Bank Indonesia left its main policy rate on hold at 3.50% today, and signalled that rates are likely to remain low for the foreseeable future. We think the policy rate will remain unchanged until at... 19th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Philippines central bank to cut rates in September The Philippines’ central bank (BSP) left its main policy rate on hold at 2.00% today, but with inflation fears receding, more rate cuts to support the beleaguered economy are likely soon. 12th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Baht to weaken further as external deficit widens The worsening prospects for the Thai economy and the shift in the current account from a huge surplus to a sizeable deficit mean the Thai baht is likely to weaken further over the coming year. 6th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Thailand to lower rates further The Bank of Thailand (BoT) left its policy rate on hold at 0.5% today as expected. Given the deteriorating outlook for the economy and with two of the six MPC members voting for a rate cut, we now... 4th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Indonesia: further rate cuts unlikely despite virus surge Bank Indonesia (BI) left interest rates unchanged today at 3.5%, and despite the worsening near-term outlook caused by a surge in COVID-19 cases, the central bank made clear further cuts are unlikely... 22nd July 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Korea still on course for an August rate hike The Bank of Korea (BoK) left its main policy rate on hold at 0.50% today and signalled that a rate hike is still very much on the table this year. While the worsening virus situation has made things... 15th July 2021 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia: rates to remain low for a long time The fact that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) left its policy rate on hold at 1.75% today despite the poor economic outlook means any further loosening is unlikely. But with the recovery set to be slow and... 8th July 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Philippines: rate cuts on the horizon The central bank in the Philippines (BSP) left its main policy rate on hold at 2.00% today, but with inflation fears receding, more rate cuts to support the beleaguered economy are only a few months... 24th June 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Thailand: policy rate on hold until at least end-2022 The Bank of Thailand (BoT) today left interest rates unchanged at their all-time low of just 0.5%, dovish comments from the press conference support our view that rates will be on hold for a long time... 23rd June 2021 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Global demand peaking but shortages to stay There are tentative signs that global demand for Asian consumer goods has peaked. But with demand for key components still running well ahead of supply, shortages are likely to persist for some time... 21st June 2021 · 2 mins read
