BoK likely to deliver another 25bp rate cut in Q1 2016
Jan 05, 2016 04:32 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks
Korean exports are still accelerating and the underlying trend of challenging external environment likely extending in 2016, the softness in external oriented sectors will keep Bank of Korea accomodative. We maintain...
Korea's current account surplus stays high
Jan 05, 2016 03:57 am UTC| Commentary Economy
Koreas current account surplus widened to USD9.4bn in the month of November, from Octobers SD9.1 bn, which came in below expectations, which were based on larger goods balance. Bigger surplus was mainly due to narrow...
China’s onshore/offshore interest rate spreads looking stretched
Jan 05, 2016 03:18 am UTC| Commentary Central Banks
Risk aversion gripped Chinese markets yesterday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down by almost 7% (trading in Chinese stock markets was halted). Significant uncertainties on the Chinese economy remain as PMI...
Commodity and EM currencies bore the brunt of the New Year's sell-off
Jan 05, 2016 03:14 am UTC| Commentary
Currencies started 2016 on a weak note. China depreciated the Chinese yuan beyond 6.50 against the US dollar. Closing at 6.5338 yesterday, the CNY fell 0.6% on the first trading day, after a full-year decline of 4.5% in...
Weak domestic demand keeps inflation subdued in Thailand
Jan 05, 2016 03:01 am UTC| Commentary Economy
Thailands core inflation came in at a two-year low of -0.7% (YoY) in Dec15. Core inflation is likely to remain soft in the coming months and this would translate to only a gradual lift to headline inflation in 2016. More...
Singapore PMIs for December have turned out mixed
Jan 05, 2016 02:47 am UTC| Commentary
Singapore PMIs for December have turned out mixed. Although overall manufacturing PMI has risen further to 49.5, from 49.2 previously, theres nothing to cheer about. The headline number is still stuck in contraction...
China’s economic slowdown in part of the restructuring plan
Jan 05, 2016 02:41 am UTC| Commentary Economy
Chinas economic slowdown is just the beginning. This is part of the grand restructuring plan that has to go through. The persistent weakening of the CNY, a bubbling domestic bond market, and an erratic stock market shall...