The bank will also want to assess housing-price trends, the impact of recent fiscal stimulus as well as U.S. trade policies-while also awaiting the Federal Reserve’s September rate decision, he added.
ING economist Min Joo Kang also said weak domestic demand argues for support, but the central bank is likely to delay a rate cut until October given a lack of signs that property prices are moderating.
Philippines
The Philippines' central bank will announce its rate decision Thursday; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has already cut rates in April and June this year to bolster growth.
Low inflation could prompt another 25-basis-point reduction, bringing the policy rate to 5.00% from 5.25%, said HSBC Asean economist Aris Dacanay.
Headline inflation has been below the BSP's 2%-4% target range for five months, easing to as low as 0.9% in July. "Given the performance of inflation so far, the BSP, we believe, has the runway to quicken and, most especially, deepen its easing cycle," Dacanay said.
India
India will release GDP data for the April-June quarter. Growth is expected to slow sequentially, with weak mining and manufacturing weighing on construction, ANZ Research said.
Real export growth, however, likely improved on strong services demand, it added.
GDP growth likely normalized on base effects and weaker growth momentum, Citi said, with resilient rural consumption outpacing lackluster urban demand.
U.S. President Trump has threatened an additional 25% levy as punishment for buying Russian oil, on top of a previously announced 25% tariff. The extra 25% is set to take effect next week unless an agreement is reached, something that economists warn could be a drag on the Indian economy, which has recently started to pick up.
India is nowhere as dependent on U.S. trade demands as many other emerging economies, but a 50% tariff would be big enough to materially impact its GDP growth, said Joe Maher, assistant economist at Capital Economics.
If duties remain at that level, the resulting drop in exports to the U.S. could drag growth both this year and next, Maher said, adding that combined with continued easing inflation, the chances of the central bank resuming its rate cutting cycle this year has increased.
Singapore
Singapore's consumer inflation likely moderated slightly in July, with CPI expected to have risen 0.75% from a year earlier, down from 0.8% in June, according to a WSJ survey of economists using LSEG data.
Core CPI, which is closely watched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and excludes private transport and housing, likely rose 0.6%, unchanged from June.
Inflation is likely near a bottom, as the Singapore dollar's appreciation has slowed and exerts less downward pressure on prices, ANZ economists Kausani Basak and Khoon Goh said.
While inflation could edge higher later this year due to base effects, it is expected to remain below long-term averages, giving MAS room to adjust policy, they added.
The central bank doesn't have a formal inflation target but considers core inflation just under 2% on average consistent with price stability.
Any references to days are in local times.
Write to Jessica Fleetham at jessica.fleetham@wsj.com and Jihye Lee at jihye.lee@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 24, 2025 17:14 ET (21:14 GMT)
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