Public Post Taiwan – inflation still firm Headline inflation dropped below 2% YoY in April, and core eased too. But underlying services inflation – a proxy for domestically generated price pressures – remains at almost 3%, a near 30-year high.
Public Post China – PPI flat Prices might be drifting down a bit, and there's big product differences (steel weak, copper strong), but high-frequency data don't suggest any real deflation emanating from China's industrial sector.
Public Post Japan – "Charge inflation hits a 10-yr high" The PMI shows strong services momentum and prices charged rising "at its steepest since April 2014...reflecting another sharp rise in input costs....which was mostly linked to greater salary payments."
Public Post China – PBC balance sheet expansion slows PSL lending, which seemed like it might become a thing for 20204, hasn't: yesterday's April data showed no new lending, so with previous loans maturing, PSL outstanding has fallen back again.
Public Post China – solid services growth The S&P PMI shows China's services sector continues to grow at a solid rate. The outlook also remains firm, with new business growing in April by the quickest rate in almost a year.
Public Post Japan – weak consumption isn't just wages The market focus in on real wages, but the elderly are even worse off than workers, the result of a policy of deliberately cutting pensions in real terms.
Public Post China – the end of PPI deflation There continue to be signs that PPI inflation will turn positive in the next couple of months. That will ease an important source of investor concern.
Public Post China – property weakness still key The PBC's Q1 depositor surveys show that it is less consumption sentiment per se that is weak than consumer price and property expectations. In this context, the news that the Politburo is studying ways to reduce property inventories is potentially significant for the macrocycle this year.
Public Post Japan – consumer confidence holding up Rather than a currency crisis, the importance of the weaker JPY for the macroeconomy is via the purchasing power of consumers. In this respect, April consumer confidence isn't too bad: down a bit, but still well up from the lows.
Public Post China – house price expectations still falling The PBC's Q1 urban depositor survey shows the housing market still hasn't bottomed, with price expectations falling to yet another new low in the survey's history.
Public Post Taiwan – finally, some manufacturing growth The S&P PMI showed the manufacturing sector grew in April for the first time in two years. But the PMI was still only 50.2. That's not much after such a long recession – and all the excitement about AI.
Public Post Korea – underlying inflation at target Headline inflation remains around 3%. But that's because of food and energy. The trimmed mean is now at the BOK's target of 2%.
Public Post Korea – export recovery still underwhelming There is an export recovery, but in value terms it still doesn't look so strong, with full-month YoY growth through April struggling to get much above 10% YoY.
Public Post Taiwan – post-covid acceleration holds Q124 growth was subdued, but Taiwan must still be one of the few economies both to have grown more strongly during covid, and to have since managed to retain the gains made.
Public Post China – strong exports in the PMI Both mfg PMIs for China were above 50 in April. There's some domestic bright spots, but the strength in the S&P PMI is all about exports.
Public Post Japan – still no retail recovery The labour market is tight, profits are up, business sentiment is strong, and inflation is higher. The one area of weakness is consumption, and that has yet to change.
Public Post China – less export price deflation Falling prices are often used as evidence for China exporting overcapacity. But export price deflation is now easing, as the base effect of the big inflation of 2022 fades.
Public Post Taiwan – px drive down consumer confidence As has been true in Japan, consumer confidence in Taiwan remains inversely correlated with inflation expectations, implying nominal wage growth is too low.
Public Post Taiwan – re-industrialisation I suppose it isn't really surprising given exports and the trade balance, but the bounce back in the manufacturing share since the early 2000s is still rather remarkable.
