East Asia Econ

East Asia Today

China's RatingDog mfg PMI continues to be much stronger than the official version. Korea's PMI fell, even though June exports rose again. In the Japan Tankan, sentiment was stronger and prices up across the broad. In Taiwan, the highlight was the strength of today's non-mfg PMI.

Paul Cavey

Jul 1, 2026 • 3 min read

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Japan – sentiment strong, prices stronger

The detailed version of the Tankan won't be released until tomorrow. But the headlines today show a clear story: business sentiment remains strong, and inflation pressures have risen yet again. The BOJ needs to become more hawkish.

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East Asia Today

China's PMIs ticked up in June, but not by enough to dispel recent concerns about the cycle. In Japan, this year's pick-up in IP was sustained in May. The message from Korea's month-end data is a bit mixed, but there are some signs of the cycle broadening.

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Korea – broader cycle, but mixed

There are signs of a broadening of the cycle, with construction past the worst, capex rising, and the labour market bottoming. However, while services activity has been strong recently, retail sales are still sluggish, and industrial production is going sideways.