East Asia Today

The further rise in upstream prices in China is likely to keep new monetary easing off the agenda. Japan's flash September PMIs softened, but manufacturing sentiment is still strong compared with recent years. M2 growth in Taiwan slowed, but private sector credit growth remains strong.

Paul Cavey

Sep 24, 2026 • 2 min read

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East Asia Today

Highlights of a longer note on fiscal conditions in Korea and Taiwan. Consumer confidence in Korea in September remained elevated. Taiwan's IP growth slowed in August, but that follows the surge seen in the previous 6M. Retail sales growth is stable at around 5% YoY.

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Region – lands of fiscal plenty

In many advanced economies, governments are drowning in debt. But in Korea and Taiwan they are floating up on the flood in revenue generated by the semiconductor boom. There is so much money that both economies plan looser fiscal policy while also paying back debt.

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East Asia Today

Some highlights of August country-level data for China's trade in autos, rare earths, semiconductors, batteries, industrial robots and solar. Also, data from Taiwan showing another rise in export orders, and the unemployment rate remaining pinned at 25-year lows.