East Asia Econ

East Asia Today

Like the manufacturing version a couple of days ago, China S&P/RatingDog services PMI in March gave back the big gains of February. Japan's services PMI remained firm, but showed rising inflation and falling confidence. Korea February JOLTS data point to the labour market remaining soft.

Paul Cavey

Apr 3, 2026 • 2 min read

Public Post

East Asia Today

More on inflation pressures in Asia, with the details of the Japan Tankan, and Korea March CPI. Also, export price deflation in China being less than often supposed, one of the highlights of February trade in volume and price terms.

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Japan – output prices rise more than input

The inflation risks evident in the Tankan can be blamed on energy prices, but output prices actually rose more than input, suggesting that firms think they can pass costs through. That's important, when the BOJ has been warning that changes in firm behaviour mean upside risks to inflation.

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Korea – inflation constrained, for now

Government measures are restraining energy prices and so headline CPI. But the war still increases upside risks for inflation. Rising oil prices are pushing up energy and intermediate prices, export growth is strong, and core inflation has been resilient.