Growth strength and CBC stance – UOB

Growth strength and CBC stance – UOB

UOB’s Ho Woei Chen highlights Taiwan’s strong 1Q26 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) performance, driven by exports and improving domestic demand, and expects full-year 2026 growth to exceed 9%. Chen notes moderating but still manageable inflation, a slightly higher 2026 Consumer Price Index (CPI) forecast, and a stable 2.00% policy rate path, implying limited near-term changes […]

Oil shock and Fed stance pressure – OCBC

Oil shock and Fed stance pressure – OCBC

OCBC strategists Sim Moh Siong and Christopher Wong highlight that most Asian FX traded softer as Brent’s rise toward USD120/bbl, inflation risks and hawkish Fed repricing weighed on sentiment. The impact has been uneven, with South Korean Won (KRW) and Oil-sensitive Philippine Peso (PHP) and Thai Baht (THB) under more pressure, while Renminbi (RMB) has […]

An “active hold” as inflation risks re-emerge

An “active hold” as inflation risks re-emerge

The Bank of England (BoE) kept rates unchanged at 3.75%, but unlike a passive pause, this was framed as a deliberate and active policy choice. The decision itself was widely expected, but the 8–1 vote split, with one member pushing for a rate hike (H. Pill), immediately signalled a more hawkish tilt beneath the surface. […]