- In one line: Post-festive spending fatigue hits growth.
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
Recovering external demand supports Malaysian manufacturing in Q1 Domestic export growth falls on subdued commodity prices
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
- The recovery in manufacturing that supported Q1 GDP growth in Malaysia is likely only to improve...
- …Prompting us to raise our 2024 full-year growth forecast to 4.8%, from 4.4% previously.
- Subdued commodity prices weighed on March exports, despite an improvement in electronics.
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
Sharp drop in pharmaceuticals drags on Singaporean exports
Indonesian retail sales benefit from an election pop in February
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
Singaporean GDP growth picks up in Q1 on recovering external demand
MAS opens the door to easing in Q4
Base effects are now dominating Philippine sales growth, masking weak marginal trends
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
- Below-consensus Q1 GDP growth in Singapore, despite friendly base effects, was no surprise to us...
- … As the uneven recover y in electronics and weaker construction activity continue to weigh on growth.
- The MAS has star ted making noise about easing in Q4, but we remain unconvinced, for now.
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
In one line: Export growth leaps back to double-digits.
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
In one line: Festive demand-driven increases unwind.
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
- Headline inflation in Taiwan nosedived to 2.1% in March, after jumping to 3.1% in February…
- …As positive Lunar New Year demand effects reversed sharply; food base effects helped too.
- Food prices should drag more on the headline, but upward risks from energy and services have risen.
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
Festive spending boosts Singaporean retail sales growth in February
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
- Singaporean retail sales growth jumped to 8.4% in February, from 1.6% in January…
- …Bolstered by Lunar New Year festive demand falling in February, compared with January in 2023.
- We still expect a gradual moderation in retail sales this year as wage and employment growth slows.
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
- We now see GDP growth in Singapore rising to 2.6% in Q1, after 2.2% in Q4…
- …Supported by the ongoing recovery in external demand and higher tourist arrivals.
- We’ve also upgraded our 2024 growth forecast to 2.2%, from 1.7%, underpinned by healthier trade.
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
- Singaporean headline inflation increased to 3.4% in February, from 2.9%, on festive demand…
- …But, with goods disinflation well-behaved and one-off increases factored in, inflation is likely to fall.
- In Malaysia, new water tariffs caused headline inflation to rise in February, to 1.8% from 1.5%.
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
Lunar New Year demand boosts headline CPI in Singapore
New tariff adjustment mechanism pushes up utilities inflation in Malaysia
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
- In one line: Anticipated hike to electricity tariffs spooks the CBC into a surprise hike.
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
- In an unexpected move, the Taiwanese central bank raised its discount rate to 2.000% yesterday…
- …Its main worry appears to be the impending rise in electricity tariffs, likely to come in April.
- The improving economic outlook has given the CBC space, but this hike is likely 'one -and- done'.
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
Malaysian export growth slumps in February on seasonal effects
Singapore's February exports hide continued recovery in electronics
Moorthy Krshnan (Senior Asia Economist)Emerging Asia
