East Asia Econ

Korea – more huge overseas equity buying

The big shift in Korea's BOP since 2020 has been the rise in overseas buying of equities. That outflow surged anew in October to a record high, and by offsetting the large current account surplus, has helped keep $KRW near record highs.

Paul Cavey

Dec 5, 2025 • 2 min read

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East Asia Today

Today's data show another surge in overseas equity buying in Korea, consumption in Japan that is quite strong considering the headwinds of population decline and real income squeeze, and inflation in Taiwan which has now fallen to 1.2%, but I don't expect will drop much further.

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East Asia Today

In advance of next week's release of CPI and PPI data in China, some thoughts on the outlook, which I think shows a lessening deflation. Also, an update on visitor arrivals in the region (strong in Japan, weak in Taiwan), and weekly flow data in Japan.

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China – lessening deflation

High-frequency data show upstream prices remained stable in November, while food prices have been rising. The combination points to a further lessening of headline deflation. I doubt that signals a real turn in nominal growth, though there are now some upside risks.