Asia Data Response Malaysia GDP (Q1) The economy expanded in Q1 but failed to completely offset the decline from the previous quarter. Growth is likely to remain weak over the coming quarters as elevated interest rates and weak external... 12th May 2023 · 2 mins read
China Rapid Response China Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Apr.) A widely-anticipated acceleration in credit growth didn’t materialise last month, suggesting that momentum may already be fading in China’s post-zero-COVID rebound. 11th May 2023 · 2 mins read
Japan Chart Pack Bank of Japan kicking the can down the road Governor Ueda presided over his first policy meeting late last month and opted to keep all monetary policy settings, including Yield Curve Control (YCC), completely unchanged. To be sure, Mr Ueda also... 11th May 2023 · 11 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan Economy Watchers Survey (Apr. 2023) The further rise in both the current and outlook readings point to continued upward momentum in services spending this quarter. Meanwhile, manufacturing conditions fell slightly but remained robust... 11th May 2023 · 2 mins read
Asia Data Response Philippines GDP (Q1) Growth slowed in Q1 and we expect the economy to weaken further over the coming quarters against a backdrop of weak global demand and high interest rates. 11th May 2023 · 3 mins read
China Rapid Response China Consumer & Producer Prices (Apr.) Producer price deflation deepened further last month to a 35-month low, and consumer price inflation dropped to its smallest in more than two years. Although the impact of reopening pushed up services... 11th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Asset Allocation Update Dialling back our optimism about Chinese equities With China’s economic rebound losing momentum and investors’ attention shifting back to concerns about the country’s political and economic model we think the near-term prospects for Chinese equities... 10th May 2023 · 7 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Fiscal consolidation is put on the backburner The 2023/24 Budget unveiled yesterday by Treasurer Jim Chalmers was something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, the modest spending measures proposed by the government will not break the bank, thanks... 10th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Commodities Update China’s commodity imports likely to remain soft China’s commodity imports were generally weak in April. We suspect that import volumes generally could soften a bit further as any reopening effect on commodity demand fades and export demand... 9th May 2023 · 2 mins read
China Rapid Response China Trade (Apr.) China’s export volumes partially reversed March’s jump last month. Shipments of most consumer goods declined due to weak global demand except for those of electric vehicles. Given the gloomy outlook... 9th May 2023 · 3 mins read
Japan Data Response Japan Labour Cash Earnings (Mar. 2023) Wage growth held steady in March from February, as a further slowdown in regular and overtime pay growth was offset by a decent increase in volatile payments. We still see further scope for wage... 9th May 2023 · 2 mins read
Asia Economics Focus Will Thailand’s prospects improve after the election? Provided Thailand’s general election on 14th May does not set off a new round of political unrest and violence, the economy should grow strongly this year. But the long-term outlook is challenging... 8th May 2023 · 13 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly More good news on inflation Price pressures across Emerging Asia are continuing to ease. While headline inflation has been on a broadly downward trend since around the third quarter of last year, the most encouraging development... 5th May 2023 · 7 mins read
