Japan – Himino hawkish

Deputy governor Himino's argued today that all the main macro dynamics are pushing up prices, underlying inflation has been rising, and so there is now a risk of "underlying inflation exceeding 2%". Unsurprisingly, he didn't spell out the policy implications, but it does sound quite hawkish, no?

Paul Cavey

Aug 27, 2026 • 4 min read

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Korea – still on the up

Back-to-back rate hikes aren't common, and since July, stronger KRW and lower equities have tightened FCI. However, the economic backdrop is unusually strong, so I would still expect the BOK to hike at its August meeting. That said, rather than rates, it is the KRW that looks more interesting here.

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East Asia Today

The strength in services PPI inflation in Japan is related to the Iran war and the weakness of the JPY. However, wage growth indicates more upside for PPI inflation in sectors with high labour intensity. The BOK's August survey, business sentiment in Korea continued to rise.

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East Asia Today

Lots today: trade volumes and prices for July in China; underlying inflation trends in Japan; consumer confidence for August in Korea; and industrial production and retail sales in July in Taiwan.