East Asia Econ

East Asia Today

Goods PPI shows upstream inflation pressure in Japan remaining firm, while today's CPI and PPI releases in China point to a further lessening of deflation. Korea's labour market is complicated by supply-side changes. In Taiwan the message is simpler, with wage growth continuing to trend up.

Paul Cavey

Dec 10, 2025 • 3 min read

Subscribers Only

Japan – PPI rises again

The post-August rise in PPI continued in November, with one driver being the JPY-driven rebound in import prices. All told, upstream price pressures remain firm, and suggest that CPI isn't likely to ease much over the next 6M.

Subscribers Only

China – food prices lift CPI

Today's inflation data weren't surprising, with the big shift being food prices lifting CPI. Non-food prices aren't rising, but in level terms aren't falling either, which is an improvement from 1H25. Nominal growth should look better through Q126.

Subscribers Only

East Asia Today

A longer report addressing three misconceptions with Japan's fiscal position. Also, yet another month of very strong export data for Taiwan. The driver is the sale of semiconductors to the US. In November, the bilateral trade surplus with the US reached 25% of Taiwan's GDP.