The Malaysian foreign trade surplus increased notably in May from a year ago as exports grew much faster than imports. The trade surplus climbed to MYR 40.4 billion in May from MYR 0.8 billion in the same month last year. The surplus also increased from MYR 29.2 billion in April. Exports jumped 45.3 percent year-on-year in May, reaching a record high for a single month.
Malaysia's consumer price inflation rose further in May to the highest level in nearly two years. The consumer price index posted an annual increase of 2.0 percent after rising 1.9 percent in April. Inflation based on food and beverages accelerated to 1.4 percent from 1.2 percent, and that on information and communication rose to 2.1 percent from 2.0 percent.
Japan inflation remained unchanged in May as government measures helped to bring down energy prices, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed Friday. Core consumer prices, excluding fresh food, registered a steady growth of 1.4 percent in May. The rate also matched expectations....
New Zealand posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of NZ$800 Million in May, Statistics New Zealand revealed on Friday. That missed forecasts for a surplus of NZ$875 million and was down from the downwardly revised NZ$1.598 billion surplus in April (originally NZ$1.920 billion). Exports...
The Bank of Japan will on Friday release the minutes from its April 27-28 monetary policy meeting, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. At the meeting, the BoJ voted 6-3 to retain its key interest rate around 0.75 percent and upgraded its inflation outlook citing higher global...
The Philippine central bank lifted its key interest rates by 25 basis points on Thursday to control inflation expectations and mitigate the risk of second-round effects. The Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas decided to lift the reverse repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent. The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were adjusted.
New Zealand's economy logged a faster growth in the first quarter, primarily driven by manufacturing expansion, official data revealed Thursday. Gross domestic product advanced 0.8 percent in the March quarter after expanding by revised 0.5 percent in the preceding period, figures released by Stats...
New Zealand will on Thursday release Q1 numbers for gross domestic product, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In the previous three months, GDP was up 0.2 percent on quarter and 1.3 percent on year. The central bank in Indonesia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting...
Singapore's non-oil domestic export growth quickened sharply in May. Non-oil domestic exports grew 38.4 percent year-over-year in April, faster than the 24.4 percent rise in the previous month. Exports of electronic products grew 94.8 percent in May from last year, driven by robust AI-related demand.
Australia's leading index signalled sluggish and below-trend growth in May, Westpac said Wednesday. The six-month annualized growth rate in the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index, which indicates the likely pace of economic activity relative to trend three to nine months into the future, rose...
The value of core machinery orders in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 8.7 percent on month in April, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday - coming in at 1,098.5 billion yen. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 1.2 percent following the 9.4 percent drop in March. On a yearly basis,...
Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 378.673 billion yen in May, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. That beat expectations for a shortfall of 564.6 billion yen following the downwardly revised 299.3 billion yen surplus in April (originally 301.9 billion). Exports climbed 17.0 percent...
New Zealand posted a seasonally adjusted current account deficit of NZ$4.6 billion in the first quarter (NZ$1.01 billion unadjusted), Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday. The current account deficit for the year ended March 2026 narrowed to NZ$16.3 billion (3.6 percent of GDP) compared with a...
Japan will on Wednesday release April figures for core machinery orders and May numbers for imports, exports and trade balance, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. Core machinery orders are expected to rise 2.1 percent on month and 9.3 percent on year after sinking 9.4 percent...
The Bank of Japan decided to raise its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to its highest level in 31 years, and to halt government bond purchase reductions next year. The policy board of BoJ voted 7-1 to raise the interest rate to 1.00 percent from 0.75 percent. The board signaled its commitment to further monetary policy tightening to support its price stability target.
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.