Asia Economy

The real hit - if there is to be one - from the barriers erected by the White House will only be truly felt in 2026

The major central banks in the region have added more than $400 billion to their reserves this year, with 11 of the largest monetary authorities now having a stockpile of close to $8 trillion

The generation born around the turn of the century is facing a bleak economic future. A shrinking pool of jobs and the advance of artificial intelligence are weighing on their prospects

There have been half-hearted efforts to remake South Asia in the image of the European Union or at least the Asean, but now they seem to have been given up entirely

Confidence in future output across the region fell to the lowest since July 2020, according to S&P Global purchasing managers' index data

Uncertainties around the US trade policy will undermine business confidence and consumer sentiment, adversely impacting growth in Asian nations, including India, Moody's Ratings said on Sunday. US President Donald Trump has postponed by three months the imposition of reciprocal tariffs, with the exception of China on whom a 125 per cent tariff has been slapped. However, a 10 per cent additional duty on exports to the US will continue. "An escalation of US-Sino tensions and the spillover effects from a slowdown in China pose significant downside risks to the (Asian) region's growth prospects. Economies with large domestic markets, such as India, may benefit from companies seeking access to these markets but any major shift in investment flows would occur over several years," Moody's Ratings Senior Vice President, Credit Strategy & Guidance, Nicky Dang told PTI. Moody's Analytics, another Moody's firm, had last week cut India's growth forecast for the 2025 calendar year to 6.1 per ..

The multilateral institution suggested countries in the region cooperate and engage in more trade between themselves, a trend that is already underway in Asia

For the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index, Nomura predicts muted returns, with end-2025 targets ranging from 573 to 859. The index is currently around 590 levels

Tariffs could impede global trade, hamper growth in exporting nations, and potentially raise inflation in the United States, forcing the US Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy, despite

RBI intervenes to cut volatility

India also hasn't been able to attract a greater portion of global foreign direct investment, even as FDI flows to China plummet, the Oxford Economics study said

The new 37-month deal, which will be Pakistan's 25th since independence, comes as the country faces loan repayments of about $24 billion this fiscal year, which started July 1

Chinese blue chips edged up 0.1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was flat

The surveys show how Chinese firms are ramping up production despite weak domestic demand, which Beijing has failed to reverse with a rescue package for an ailing property sector

The value of new home sales at China's top 100 real estate companies slid 41.6% in January-June from the same period a year ago

Pakistan is in talks with the IMF for a loan of $6 billion to $8 billion

Desire to make an Asia for Asians, without the overbearing influence of the West, is not new

In a major relief for inflation-hit masses in cash-strapped Pakistan, the government has slashed the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs 10.20 and Rs 2.33 per litre respectively ahead of the Eid ul Adha festival. The price cut, effective from Saturday, will bring the price of petrol to Rs 258.16 per litre while the price of HSD will be Rs 267.89 per litre, The Express Tribune newspaper quoted a statement from the Prime Minister's Office on Friday. The Finance Division, which usually reviews the fuel prices every 15 days, issued an official notification for the latest price cuts and said the new prices would be applicable for the next fortnight. The notification said that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had worked out the consumer prices, based on the price variations in the international market. The move to slash the prices of petroleum would benefit the Pakistani people who have been hit by double-digit inflation. Pakistan has been hit by inflation of ab

Pakistan has projected a sharp drop in its fiscal deficit for the new financial year to 5.9% of GDP, from an upwardly revised estimate of 7.4% for the current year

Sri Lanka's macroeconomic policy reforms have started to "bear fruit" and the country is expected to reach agreements with external commercial creditors soon, the IMF has said ahead of the second review of it's USD 2.9 billion bailout programme to the cash-strapped country. Addressing a press conference on Friday, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Communication Department Director Julie Kozack asserted that Sri Lanka has made "sufficiently strong progress on the debt restructuring front". She said that the island nation's programme performance is "strong", with most quantitative and structural conditionality for the second review met or implemented with delay, adding that reforms are still ongoing in some areas. The second review of the IMF's Extended Fund Facility under the USD 2.9 billion bailout of Sri Lanka has been set for June 12. Kozack confirmed that the IMF's Executive Board will meet to discuss the second review and the Article IV Consultation. Under Article IV of the IM