Asia Economics Update New Zealand rates to remain on prolonged hold The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) left its key interest rate at 2.5% today, as anticipated, citing the deterioration in external conditions and escalation in financial market risks. The RBNZ... 16th September 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Why India will not follow Brazil in cutting rates Given the sharp deterioration in the global economic outlook in the past couple of months, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will give serious consideration to downside risks to growth when it meets on... 13th September 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Tide starting to turn on interest rates Central banks in Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea and the Philippines all kept their main policy rates on hold today, as expected, reflecting heightened concern over the outlook for the global economy. This... 9th September 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australia’s growth momentum looks resilient Economic growth rebounded strongly in the second quarter, strengthening our view that Australia’s recovery is intact despite the fall in output in Q1. Worries about the global outlook obviously add... 8th September 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Troubles mount for Pakistan’s crisis-hit economy A combination of increasing political violence in Karachi, falling cotton prices, an unsustainable fiscal position and high inflation mean the outlook for Pakistan’s fragile economy remains bleak. 7th September 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Australia’s cash rate more likely to rise than fall While the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is widely expected to leave its cash rate at 4.75% on Tuesday, the swap market suggests that the cash rate will be aggressively cut over the next 12 months... 6th September 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Growth slowdown in the Philippines to be short-lived The Philippines is the latest country within emerging Asia to report weak Q2 GDP data. Nonetheless, as with elsewhere in the region, growth should rebound in coming quarters as temporary supply-chain... 1st September 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update India’s resilient growth to bring more policy tightening India’s second quarter GDP figures, which showed only a marginal deceleration from the first quarter, should dispel any concerns in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that the economy is struggling to... 31st August 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly India's growth to regain traction by year-end India’s Q2 GDP data will be released on Tuesday and are likely to show that growth slowed. We forecast growth of 7.5% y/y in Q2, down from 7.8% in Q1. Monthly output data suggest that the slowdown... 30th August 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Chart Pack Supply-chain disruptions temporarily hit growth Q2 GDP figures reported so far within emerging Asia have tended to be weak, with some analysts suggesting that sluggish growth in the US and euro-zone have stalled growth in Asia. This seems premature... 27th August 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Vietnam’s inflation to bring more policy tightening August price data highlight growing concerns over the stubbornly-high rate of inflation in Vietnam. Despite the backdrop of a weak global economy, we believe that the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is... 26th August 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Bank of Thailand's tightening cycle to end this year In spite of growing downside risks to global growth, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) raised its repo rate by 25bp to 3.5% today. The BoT’s decision-making is being heavily influenced by the outlook for... 25th August 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update How bad was Q2 GDP in Thailand and elsewhere? Thailand is the latest country within emerging Asia to have reported weak GDP data for the second quarter. Nonetheless, worries that slower growth in the West has already stalled growth in Asia look... 23rd August 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Thailand's central bank faces a policy dilemma The Bank of Thailand announces its latest interest rate decision on Wednesday. Policymaking has been complicated by global worries intensifying at a time when local fiscal policy looks set to be... 23rd August 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Sri Lanka’s central bank to keep rates on hold until 2012 The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) kept interest rates on hold today, as expected. Although headline inflation crept up slightly in July, the central bank remains confident that inflation will start... 20th August 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Malaysia's growth to be supported by domestic demand Malaysia’s economy grew at a slower pace in Q2 than it did in Q1. Although downside risks for exports have increased, domestic demand should continue to support growth in coming quarters. The upshot... 18th August 2011 · 1 min read
