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of intelligence and analysis on the Global Fixed Income, Foreign Exchange and Energy markets. We use an innovative combination of real-time analysis, deep fundamental research and journalism to provide unique and actionable insights for traders and investors. Our "All signal, no noise" approach drives an intelligence service that is succinct and timely, which is highly regarded by our time constrained client base.Our Head Office is in London with offices in Chicago, Washington and Beijing, as well as an on the ground presence in other major financial centres across the world.
ASIA
Both the South Korea and Taiwan PMIs improved in Jan. The South Korea print rose to 51.2 from 49.9 in Dec. The Taiwan print to 48.8 from 47.1.
- For South Korea this is the highest print since mid 2022 and puts us comfortably back in expansion territory. For Taiwan we are back to March 2023 levels.
- Both indices were pushed higher by output readings. The South Korea index rose to 51.6, the highest since Feb 2022. The Taiwan output sub index rose to 47.1 from 45.2. New orders were also up in both PMIs from the prior month.
- The average of the headline PMIs for both countries lines up reasonably well with global trade volume growth, see the chart below. It suggests improving momentum, all else equal, supporting the soft landing hypothesis.
- Earlier we had South Korean trade figures bounce strongly in Jan, although this was inflated by more days this Jan compared to Jan 2023. Still, the trend looks resilient.
- Taiwan trade figures have been mixed, with Dec exports up strongly but export orders surprising on the downside.
Fig 1: Average South Korea & Taiwan PMIs Versus Global Trade Volumes
Source: MNI - Market News/Bloomberg
Why MNI
MNI is the leading provider
of intelligence and analysis on the Global Fixed Income, Foreign Exchange and Energy markets. We use an innovative combination of real-time analysis, deep fundamental research and journalism to provide unique and actionable insights for traders and investors. Our "All signal, no noise" approach drives an intelligence service that is succinct and timely, which is highly regarded by our time constrained client base.Our Head Office is in London with offices in Chicago, Washington and Beijing, as well as an on the ground presence in other major financial centres across the world.
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