Hong Kong's consumer price inflation held steady for the second straight month in April. The consumer price index, or CPI, climbed 1.7 percent year-over-year in April, the same as in the previous two months. Inflation based on transportation rose to 4.3 percent from 3.9 percent amid higher fuel costs, while food inflation moderated to 0.7 percent from 0.9 percent.
India's private sector activity continued to expand strongly in May, though the pace of growth eased marginally amid weaker increases in domestic and foreign orders. The HSBC flash composite output index dropped to 58.1 in May from 58.2 in April. The survey revealed that a pick-up in growth across the service economy was offset by a weaker increase in factory production.
Australia's unemployment rate rose to the highest since 2021 in April, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday. The unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent in April from 4.3 percent in March. This was the highest since November 2021, when the rate was 4.6 percent. The number...
The value of core machinery orders in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 9.4 percent on month in March, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - coming in at 1,010.9 billion yen. That missed forecasts for a decline of 7.7 percent after jumping 13.6 percent in February. On a yearly basis, orders...
Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 301.9 billion yen in April, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday. That blew away forecasts for a deficit of 29.7 billion yen following the 643.0 billion yen surplus in March. Exports were up 14.8 percent on year to 10.507 trillion yen, beating expectations...
The manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in May, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.2. That's down from 51.3 in April, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from...
New Zealand posted a merchandise trade surplus of NZ$1.920 billion in April, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday. That blew away expectations for s surplus of NZ$980 million following the downwardly revised NZ$430 million surplus in March (originally NZ$698 million). Exports came in at NZ$8.62...
Australia will on Thursday release April numbers for unemployment, highlighting a bust day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The jobless rate is expected to hold steady at 4.3 percent, with the addition of 16,700 jobs following the increase of 17,900 jobs in March. The participation rate is also...
Producer prices in South Korea climbed 2.5 percent on month in April, the Bank of Korea said on Thursday - up from 1.7 percent in March. Individually, prices for agricultural, forestry and marine products slipped 1.0 percent on month, while manufacturing products jumped 4.4 percent, utilities rose...
Taiwan's export order growth moderated in April after rebounding sharply in the previous month. Export orders grew 48.1 percent year-over-year in April, slower than the 65.9 percent surge in March. Orders for information and communication products grew 89.7 percent from last year. On a monthly basis, export orders dropped 0.4 percent.
Bank Indonesia raised its benchmark interest rates by a larger-than-expected half percentage points on Wednesday, as it struggles to stabilize the rupiah exchange rate amid geopolitical tensions. The board of governors, governed by Perry Warjiyo, decided to hike the BI rate by 50 basis points to 5.25 percent.
The Malaysian foreign trade surplus increased sharply in April from a year ago as exports grew faster than imports. The trade surplus rose to MYR 28.8 billion in April from MYR 5.1 billion in the same month last year. The surplus also rose from MYR 24.5 billion in March. Exports surged 36.9 percent year-on-year in April, and imports were 20.0 percent higher.
China maintained its loan prime rates unchanged for the twelfth straight month, as widely expected, on Wednesday. The People's Bank of China maintained its one-year loan prime rate at 3.0 percent. Similarly, the five-year LPR, the benchmark for mortgage rates, was retained at 3.50 percent.
The central bank in Indonesia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The benchmark lending rate (4.75 percent), deposit facility rate (3.75 percent) and lending facility rate (5.50 percent)...
Hong Kong's unemployment rate held steady in the three months ending in April. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate came in at 3.7 percent in February to April, the same as in the January to March period. Without adjustment, the unemployment rate edged higher to 3.7 percent from 3.6 percent. The number of unemployed people was 139,200 compared to 136,600 in the January to March period.
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.