Asia Data Response

Manufacturing PMIs (Jun.)

The PMIs point to an improvement in manufacturing conditions last month, although many readings are still low and suggest that overall manufacturers continue to struggle.

1st July 2020 · 2 mins read

Asia Data Response

Korea Trade (1st – 20th June)

Korean trade data for the first 20 days of June suggest that the slump in exports is probably past the worse. But the recovery in external demand in the quarters ahead is likely to be a protracted one...

22nd June 2020 · 2 mins read

Asia Data Response

Korea Trade (1st – 10th June)

Korean trade data for the first ten days of June suggest that the external environment improved slightly at the start of last month. We suspect this will mark the start of a long and slow recovery.

11th June 2020 · 2 mins read

Asia Economics Update

Further signs of improvement in Korea

Despite the sharp rise in the unemployment rate last month, there are signs that the Korean labour market has turned a corner. This adds to evidence that the economy has now bottomed out.

10th June 2020 · 2 mins read

Asia Economics Focus

Which countries will rebound fastest?

The high-frequency data that we track suggest that while economic activity is picking up across most of the region, the pace of recovery varies significantly by country. We expect China, Singapore...

8th June 2020 · 11 mins read

Asia Data Response

Korea Trade (May)

Korean export values sank further in May after collapsing in April, and while this is likely to mark the bottom, external demand is only likely to recover very slowly in the coming months.

1st June 2020 · 2 mins read

Asia Data Response

Manufacturing PMIs (May)

We suspect that PMI readings do not accurately reflect the change in industry conditions last month, but they are still indicative of the fact that output remains very depressed.

1st June 2020 · 2 mins read

Asia Economics Weekly

Bumps in Korea’s recovery, how to interpret the PMIs

A couple of new outbreaks of coronavirus in Korea’s capital city, Seoul, has led to renewed fears of a second wave of infections. The recent spike appears to have put the recovery on hold and has led...

29th May 2020 · 5 mins read

Asia Economics Update

BoK stops short of full QE, more action still likely

The Bank of Korea (BoK) cut its policy rate by 25bps to a new record low of 0.50% and gave some vague assurances that it would act to keep long term government bond yields down. With growth likely to...

28th May 2020 · 3 mins read

Asia Data Response

Korea Trade (1st – 20th May)

Korean trade data for the first 20 days of May show no signs of a turnaround in exports despite the easing of lockdowns in many trading partners.

21st May 2020 · 2 mins read

Asia Data Response

Korea Trade (1st – 10th May.)

Korean trade data for the first ten days of May show that exporters have taken a massive hit from lockdowns across the world. This bodes poorly for exporters across the rest of the region too.

11th May 2020 · 2 mins read

Asia Economics Weekly

Infections ease, but recovery proving slow

Though there are notable exceptions, there are some encouraging signs that new infections of the coronavirus are falling in many places in Emerging Asia. The slowing spread of the virus should allow...

8th May 2020 · 6 mins read

Asia Data Response

Manufacturing PMIs (Apr.)

The manufacturing PMIs for Asia sank sharply in April and are unlikely to have bottomed out yet in many places. Any recovery in industry thereafter is set to be very slow going.

4th May 2020 · 2 mins read

Asia Data Response

Korea Trade (Apr.)

Korean export values fell sharply in April and with global demand collapsing, trade is likely to remain very weak. Indeed, we wouldn’t be surprised if the May data worsened further still.

1st May 2020 · 2 mins read

Asia Data Response

Korea GDP (Q1, provisional)

Economic activity in Korea fell by the most since 2008 last quarter and unfortunately there is much worse to come. With the external environment weighing heavily on export demand, a much deeper...

23rd April 2020 · 3 mins read