East Asia Econ

East Asia Today

Detailed trade data show hybrids becoming the big driver of China's auto export surge. The political tensions with China have yet to derail Japan's tourism industry. In no surprise to anyone, Taiwan's central bank kept policy on hold in its Q4 monetary policy meeting.

Paul Cavey

Dec 18, 2025 • 2 min read

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East Asia Today

Lots to update on Japan today, with the flash PMI, machine orders, foreign trade and the flow of funds. And on Korea, there are the minutes from yesterday of the November MPB meeting, and today's release of the Q3 financial statement analysis data.

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Japan – strong cycle and savings

Data releases the last couple of days give more evidence that tariffs haven't derailed exports or capex. Even so, the flow of funds for Q3 show corporates remain net savers. With the fiscal deficit now also now narrowing to the lowest level since the 1990s, the result is a growing CA surplus.

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Korea – BOK optimistic on exports, and consumption

The BOK minutes shed more light on the improvement in cycle optimism that was clear at the November meeting. In terms of exports, that appears justified, because of strong semi exports and firmer profits. I am less sure about consumption, even though corporate earnings will lift bonuses.