East Asia Econ

East Asia Today

A quick review of inflation trends in China, with the release today of upstream price data for the first 20 days of May. Also, highlights of the speech by BOJ policy board member Masu Kazuyuki.

Paul Cavey

May 14, 2026 • 2 min read

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East Asia Today

A longer piece on how the impact of pricier energy imports is being offset by big increases in electronics export prices. Today's data releases showed competing cycle indicators in Japan: strong bank lending versus a weak EW survey. Some contradictions also in Korea, with low UE, but soft wages too.

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Region – the other terms of trade shock

The Iran War will push up inflation. But for growth, transmission is via the terms of trade, and higher import prices are being offset by historical rises in export prices, increases that are unlikely to be just cyclical. That supports growth in Asia, at the expense of even more inflation for ROW.

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East Asia Today

Signs of less loosening in China, in both the PBC monetary policy report for Q126, and the April release of the central bank's liquidity operations. In Japan, the summary of the April MPC show more pressure to tighten. Consumption data for March and trade data for early April were stable.