MNI Asia Pac Weekly Macro Wrap:

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Executive Summary:

JAPAN 

• Tokyo CPI was below forecasts, back to 2.5%y/y, while real July wage gains were revised back into negative territory. Sep PMIs were softer on the manufacturing side. Koizumu remains the market favourite to become the next Prime Minister.  

AUSTRALIA 

• The headline August CPI print was 3.0%y/y, against a 2.9% market consensus and 2.8% July outcome. The trimmed mean was 2.6% y/y, after printing 2.7% in July (there is no consensus estimate for this outcome).
• RBA Governor's Bullock testimony before parliament covered a lot of ground, but didn't much light on the broader monetary policy outlook. Most notably since the August meeting, domestic data have been broadly in line with or slightly stronger than expectations.

NEW ZEALAND

• The NZ government has appointed Sweden's Anna Breman, Riksbank’s first deputy governor, to be the new RBNZ governor. Breman will start the position on Dec 1 of this year. Current acting RBNZ Governor Hawkseby will remain in the position until then. 

SOUTH KOREA 

• South Korea consumer sentiment eased of recent cycle highs. First 20-days exports for Sep were impacted by seasonal holiday timing. 

ASIA 

• Indonesia’s House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the 2026 State Budget Law in a plenary session attended by Finance Minister Purbaya. Malaysia's CPI for August was marginally up at +1.3%, versus +1.2% in July.

ASIA EQUITY FLOWS 

• Following periods of inflows, regional flows have turned negative over the last week, although South Korea and Indonesia recorded positive inflows for the past 5 days.