East Asia Econ

East Asia Today

Decent wage growth in Japan in February, but a terrible March EW survey; stupendous current account data in Korea, but continued equity outflows; and inflation falling in March in Taiwan, but underlying core settling at around 2%

Paul Cavey

Apr 8, 2026 • 3 min read

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East Asia Today

In February, despite the strength of consumer confidence, Japanese consumption weakened. That was before the Iran war, and the consequences of the conflict also aren't evident in trade data for the first 20 days of March. They can be seen, however, in the fall in Taiwan's fx reserves last month.

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East Asia Today

More inflation indicators to report today. China's high-frequency upstream price data continue to point to a YoY rise in PPI in March for the first time since 2022. In Japan, latest data show the output gap (on the BOJ's updated methodology) tightened further in Q425.

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Last week, next week

The themes around China as a relative safe haven, and firming inflation in Japan, are clear. The inflation picture in Japan supports rate hikes. Korea, by contrast, is messier: there are positive dynamics like the surging trade surplus and WGBI inclusion, but the KRW still can't stabilise.