Asia Economics Update Prabowo tightens grip on Indonesia’s commodity exports The creation of a state-owned export monopoly may help Indonesia’s government capture a greater share of commodity revenues, but it risks deterring investment, undermining confidence in policymaking... 21st May 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Rate hike would provide only brief respite for rupiah The Indonesian rupiah has continued to slide over the past week and, while we think intervention in the foreign exchange market will remain Bank Indonesia’s primary course of action to prop up the... 18th May 2026 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BI meets amid rupiah weakness, Malaysia’s resilience While it is likely to be a close call, we expect Bank Indonesia to keep policy rates unchanged at its upcoming meetings despite rupiah weakness, preferring instead to rely on FX intervention to... 15th May 2026 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Will Korean consumers continue to shrug off energy spike? March retail sales in Korea rose strongly in both m/m and y/y terms, suggesting households have largely shrugged off the Middle East crisis, with inflation kept in check despite higher global energy... 1st May 2026 · 8 mins read
Asia Rapid Response Indonesia Interest Rate Announcement (April 2026) Bank Indonesia left its policy rate unchanged at 4.75% today as officials’ concerns about the weakness of the rupiah countered its desire to support economic growth. So long as the rupiah doesn’t come... 22nd April 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Jakarta & Manila unlikely to follow Singapore in tightening The Monetary Authority of Singapore tightened its policy stance this week, but we doubt that central banks in Indonesia and the Philippines will follow suit next week – both are likely to keep rates... 17th April 2026 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Manufacturers hit, Korean outflows, BOK and RBI meetings The March PMIs show that the energy shock appears to be hitting manufacturers in Asia, though it is more evident in higher input prices than in falling activity. Meanwhile, foreign outflows from Korea... 2nd April 2026 · 7 mins read
Asia Rapid Response Indonesia Interest Rate Announcement (Mar. 2026) Bank Indonesia left its policy rate unchanged at 4.75% for a sixth consecutive meeting today and, while officials seemed sanguine about inflation risks, they are clearly concerned about the renewed... 17th March 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Energy shock compounds Indonesia’s fiscal challenges Indonesia was already struggling to contain its budget deficit and the conflict in the Middle East will only add to the challenges, with the government planning to temper the impact on local fuel... 13th March 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update The Gulf remittance risk for Asia A prolonged conflict in the Middle East could hit remittance flows as worsening economic prospects in the Gulf weighed on demand for migrant workers. A collapse in remittances seems unlikely. But any... 13th March 2026 · 3 mins read
Asia Economics Update Energy shock in Asia: policy choices ahead High energy prices and growing concerns over energy security have already prompted significant policy responses across Asia. Some governments are looking to introduce inflation-suppressing measures... 10th March 2026 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update Is Asia running on empty with LNG? Asian economies vary in how dependent they are on LNG from the Gulf – for China and Japan, dependence is low, while Pakistan, Taiwan and Korea have much higher exposure. Low domestic inventories leave... 10th March 2026 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Update The Iran shock and Asia As net energy importers, most economies in Asia are worse off and facing higher inflation as a result of the attacks on Iran. But oil prices would have to rise much further than they have so far – to... 2nd March 2026 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly IEEPA ruling, Taiwan’s surging surplus Recent US tariff adjustments have led to a fall in rates for Asian countries, and on average they remain lower than China’s. However, the relative advantage over Chinese manufacturers has diminished... 27th February 2026 · 6 mins read
