Asia Economics Weekly Weak Korean activity data, dovish BSP, hawkish BoT The latest monthly activity data for Korea suggest that the economy weakened again last month and that GDP will have contracted in the second quarter of the year. In addition, while the central bank... 28th June 2024 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Thai budget boost, Singapore’s cooling jobs market Most countries in Asia are planning to tighten fiscal policy as they aim to put government finances on a more secure footing following the pandemic. One exception to this is Thailand, which this week... 21st June 2024 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Malaysia subsidy cuts, BoK minutes, Pakistan budget Headline inflation in Malaysia has been among the lowest in Asia but that is soon set to change now that the government is pushing ahead with long-planned subsidy cuts aimed at improving the public... 14th June 2024 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BoT to cut rates, inflation falling in Korea, Modi 3.0 A weak economy, low inflation and a strengthening currency mean the conditions are in place for the Bank of Thailand to begin loosening monetary policy at its meeting on Wednesday. Meanwhile... 7th June 2024 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Vietnam: Rates to end the year lower, not higher The risk of monetary tightening in Vietnam has risen over the past few weeks due to concerns about the currency and inflation. We still think a rate hike is unlikely. But even if the central bank (SBV... 31st May 2024 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Singapore slowdown, Thailand’s weak recovery GDP growth in Singapore slowed sharply in the first quarter of the year, and the outlook for the rest of 2024 is very poor, with a weakening labour market, tighter fiscal policy and subdued global... 24th May 2024 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BI on hold, new leaders, Biden tariffs The recent recovery in the rupiah means Bank Indonesia is unlikely to follow up April’s surprise hike with another interest rate increase when it meets on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Korea could prove to be... 17th May 2024 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BSP to sound dovish, inflation eases in Taiwan The central bank in the Philippines is likely to leave interest rates unchanged at its scheduled meeting on Thursday. However, the sharp slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter means the BSP... 10th May 2024 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea: a weak start to the second quarter In response to the stronger-than-expected first quarter GDP figures, Bank of Korea Governor Rhee this week hinted that the central bank would revise up its GDP growth forecast (from 2.1%) for this... 3rd May 2024 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Will any other central banks hike interest rates? We are not expecting any other central banks in the region to follow Bank Indonesia and hike interest rates to support their currencies. However, one central bank worth monitoring is the State Bank of... 26th April 2024 · 9 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly How will Bank Indonesia respond to the slump in the rupiah? With the rupiah coming under further downward pressure against the US dollar this week, a rate hike by Bank Indonesia at its scheduled meeting on Wednesday cannot be ruled out. However, our sense is... 19th April 2024 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Korea election blow for President Yoon, Taiwan export boom The poor performance of President Yoon’s PPP party in this week’s parliamentary elections in Korea will make it even harder for the president to push through his conservative reform agenda. That said... 12th April 2024 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BoT decision on a knife edge Inflation in Thailand was still negative last month, according to data released earlier today. With recent activity subdued, the central bank will have to change tack and start loosening policy soon... 5th April 2024 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly MAS likely to loosen policy later than most in Asia Singapore was an outlier within Asia in terms of how high inflation spiked and it still has higher core inflation than most other economies in the region. The core rate is likely to remain above... 28th March 2024 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Political risk in Vietnam; SBP’s hawkish hold One of Vietnam’s key appeals to foreign investors is its political stability relative to other low-income countries in the region. Given this, the unexplained ousting of President Vo Van Thuong of... 22nd March 2024 · 8 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Taiwan: strong growth, but falling inflation Despite the booming economy, inflation in Taiwan has been falling back in recent months. Accordingly, we expect the central bank (CBC) to leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Thursday. 15th March 2024 · 7 mins read
