Asia Economics Weekly New tariffs, Sri Lanka tightening cycle not over US tariffs on Asian economies are entering a new phase following the expiration of the 10% global surcharge under Section 122. This is being replaced with country-specific Section 301 duties, but... 24th July 2026 · 6 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Singapore boom continues, hawkish Bank of Korea Singapore’s economy remained strong in Q2, with GDP growth of 5.7% y/y driven by a manufacturing boom linked to AI-related demand. However, with inflation staying low, we expect the Monetary Authority... 17th July 2026 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank of Korea to kick start tightening cycle A combination of above-target inflation, buoyant growth, a struggling currency, and rising property prices in Seoul all point to the Bank of Korea hiking rates by 25bp to 2.75% next week. We currently... 10th July 2026 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Strong growth in Vietnam as exports offset oil drag GDP figures published today show that Vietnam has brushed off the impact of the Iran war and the energy price shock, with growth unexpectedly accelerating on the back of strong exports. Although the... 3rd July 2026 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Good news for Indonesia, but investor concerns remain Indonesia has avoided an immediate MSCI downgrade from EM status, but its continued inclusion now depends on further progress in market reforms ahead of a November review. The decision is therefore a... 26th June 2026 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Indonesia back in the spotlight, hawkish central banks MSCI is expected to announce on Tuesday whether Indonesia will retain its emerging market status, with recent reforms and press reports suggesting that a downgrade to frontier market status is... 19th June 2026 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Outlook for Asian currencies hinges on US-Iran deal Asian currencies have rebounded on hopes of a US–Iran deal and lower oil prices. Stronger currencies would reduce the need for aggressive rate hikes by Asian central banks. 12th June 2026 · 7 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Inflation high but stabilising (mostly), turmoil in Indonesia May’s inflation data across Asia were mixed but broadly encouraging. While inflation remains well above pre-war levels in most economies, it generally stabilised last month. We expect most central... 5th June 2026 · 4 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly BoK’s tightening cycle to be gradual, Taiwan boom continues Although the Bank of Korea struck a hawkish tone yesterday, today’s weak activity data and the challenging outlook for domestic demand suggest that any tightening cycle is likely to be gradual... 29th May 2026 · 5 mins read
Asia Economics Weekly Bank Indonesia hikes, who will be next? Bank Indonesia delivered an unexpected 50bps rate hike earlier, driven primarily by concerns over rupiah weakness. We now see a further 50bps of tightening by end-2026. Attention now turns to meetings... 22nd May 2026 · 5 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 Stimulus in Thailand, Korean inflation under control Thailand is launching a 400bn baht (2% of GDP) stimulus to cut living costs and boost renewables, though the spending risks pushing public debt towards—and potentially through—the government’s 70% of... 8th May 2026 · 5 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 Economics Weekly Who will hike rates next? Korea’s chip boom The Philippines raised interest rates this week due to rising inflation concerns, and we think Pakistan could follow at its upcoming meeting on Monday given inflation is already above target and... 24th April 2026 · 7 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 Asia inflation: mostly benign, Philippines the outlier Inflation across most of Asia remains well contained, as subsidies and administrative price controls help cushion the impact of higher energy prices. The Philippines stands out as a key exception... 10th April 2026 · 6 mins read
