East Asia Econ

Last week, next week

Stabilisation in China seems to be becoming a more popular view. Hope is building for a BOJ hike in June, but one won't be enough. KRW should be strengthening, but likey needs more Middle East certainty. The big event for the region this week is the Xi-Trump meeting.

Paul Cavey

May 11, 2026 • 7 min read

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China – inflation up again

PPI inflation accelerated again in April, and with CPI inflation firm, the GDP deflator is on track to rise in Q2 for the first time in 2022. The turn is being led by energy and commodity prices. There are some signs of a stabilisation in underlying prices too, but so far, they are tentative.

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China – imports strong again

After doing nothing for 3 years, imports are suddenly growing 20%. Chips are one component, but while I thought that related to prices, official data show the bigger diver of overall imports is volumes. I am not sure that's because of domestic demand, but it is starting to reduce the trade surplus.

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East Asia Today

Korea March data finally showed a fall in offshore buying by residents, only to be replaced by domestic selling by foreigners. Taiwan's April trade data show limited Iran impact. Japan wage growth in March was strong, but only at the headline level. And my latest video, on why Taiwan macro matters.