Japan Economics Weekly Ueda signals low bar for further rate hikes Bank of Japan Governor Ueda today indicated that it wouldn't take much for the Bank to hike interest rates further in the second half of the year. The extreme labour shortages coupled with persistent... 5th April 2024 · 5 mins read
Japan Rapid Response Japan Tankan (Q1 2024) The slight fall in business conditions across all firm sizes in the latest Tankan suggests that a rapid recovery from the likely slump in Q1 GDP looks unlikely. 1st April 2024 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Government readies for FX intervention With the yen weakening to a fresh 34-year low against the dollar, the Ministry of Finance signaled that an intervention in the foreign exchange markets is imminent. However, the yen will certainly not... 28th March 2024 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Shunto tide should lift wage growth among small firms This year’s spring wage negotiations resulted in the largest pay hikes since 1991 and we estimate that participating workers will receive a base pay hike of around 3.5%. While it’s mostly the large... 15th March 2024 · 7 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Shunto bonanza opens door to March rate hike Developments over the past week have increased the chances that the Bank of Japan will end negative rates in March rather than our current forecast of April. Meanwhile, with childbirths hitting a... 8th March 2024 · 4 mins read
Japan Economic Outlook Negative rates will end but tightening cycle unlikely The economy isn’t in recession but GDP growth will slow towards trend this year. With a virtuous cycle between wages and prices now in full swing, we expect the Bank of Japan to end negative rates at... 6th March 2024 · 17 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly BoJ will not be swayed by weak industrial output We doubt that the slump in industrial output in January will prevent the Bank of Japan from ending negative rates over the coming months, but the recent string of disappointing data reinforces our... 1st March 2024 · 6 mins read
Japan Rapid Response Japan Retail Sales & Industrial Production (Jan. 24) 29th February 2024 · 2 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Is the plunge in imports the canary in the coalmine? Given that GDP has already contracted for two consecutive quarters, the plunge in imports in January and the fall in the manufacturing PMI to the lowest level since 2020 in February hardly instill... 23rd February 2024 · 8 mins read
Japan Chart Pack Japan Chart Pack (Feb. 2024) Our Japan Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. GDP has fallen for two consecutive quarters but we don’t think the economy is in recession and... 20th February 2024 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Weak activity won’t forestall BoJ tightening plans While Japan's GDP contracted for the second consecutive quarter, other data overwhelmingly point to the economy holding up rather than falling into recession. And while the third consecutive fall in... 16th February 2024 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Consumers should be feeling a little brighter in 2024 The upcoming GDP data are likely to confirm that Japanese consumers had a dismal 2023, with spending falling for most of the year. Healthy increases in nominal wages and lower inflation should put... 8th February 2024 · 5 mins read
