Last week, next week

The main cycle news in China is the rebound in input prices that likely further postpones monetary loosening. In Japan, the market will be waiting for this week's summary opinions of the September meeting. Korea has the strongest cycle momentum. In Taiwan, monetary policy looks too loose.

Paul Cavey

Sep 28, 2026 • 5 min read

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East Asia Today

Japan being back from holiday allowed the delayed released of the BOJ's underlying inflation data for August. Holidays elsewhere mean no other data, so I've spent some time looking at the claims from Taiwan's central bank that its monetary policy stance is "on the tight side".

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Taiwan – tight (!) policy?

The CBC last week claimed that even with the policy rate staying at 2%, its monetary stance "remains on the tight side". I am not persuaded, but it is worth studying the bank's argument.

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East Asia Today

The further rise in upstream prices in China is likely to keep new monetary easing off the agenda. Japan's flash September PMIs softened, but manufacturing sentiment is still strong compared with recent years. M2 growth in Taiwan slowed, but private sector credit growth remains strong.