East Asia Econ

East Asia Today

A few charts from a longer slidepack looking at the remarkable changes in Taiwan's economy since 2020, details of consumer confidence and PPI in Korea, and export volume data for Japan for January.

Paul Cavey

Feb 24, 2026 • 2 min read

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Korea – consumer confidence and PPI

The continued strength of consumer confidence in today's February survey might be hinting at a broader cyclical upturn. At the same time, house price expectations eased. CPI expectations were stable at 2.6%, and likewise, today's PPI for January doesn't point to a big near-term change in inflation.

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Taiwan – into unchartered waters

Taiwan's macro story is fascinating. Rarely has growth in such a rich economy accelerated so much, with reindustrialisation and huge external surpluses, at the same time as rates and the currency barely move. I'd think that something has to give. Will 2026 finally be the year that it does?

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East Asia Today

Because of the new year holiday, the trade data across the region for the first couple of months are a bit suspect. That's particularly true when the data don't even cover the full month. Still, in the first 20 days of February, Korean chip exports, and shipments to China, look strong.