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UOB economists Julia Goh and Loke Siew Ting note Malaysia’s 4Q25 GDP grew 6.3% year-on-year, the fastest since 4Q22, lifting full-year 2025 growth to 5.2%. They project real GDP growth to slow to 4.5% in 2026 as base effects and external uncertainties weigh, though domestic demand, investment, tourism and AI-related activity are expected to keep overall expansion solid.Domestic demand cushions slower 2026 GDP”Going forward, we expect real GDP growth to moderate to 4.5% in 2026 (from 5.2% in 2025, MOF est: 4.0%-4.5%) amid persistent external uncertainties and base effects.””Domestic demand should remain the key anchor, supported by continued government policy…

Silver (XAG/USD) price advances on Friday, bouncing off daily lows around $74 and posting gains of over 2.50%, yet it is poised to end the week on a negative note. A softer-than-expected US inflation report pushed the white metal higher, and it trades at $77.20 a troy ounce ahead of the weekend.XAG/USD Price Forecast: Technical outlookSilver is down 0.85% in the week, after beginning the week at around $80.00. Nevertheless, US stocks plunged on Thursday, pushing XAG downward, which has recently moved in sympathy with equities.The Relative Strength Index (RSI) suggests that the precious metal is poised to trade sideways,…

Commerzbank analysts explain that India’s new CPI series shows January inflation at 2.8% year-on-year, back within the RBI’s 2–6% target band. The reweighted basket reduces food’s share and should damp volatility. With inflation contained and growth supported by fiscal policy and trade deals, RBI is expected to keep the policy rate unchanged at 5.25%.Inflation reweighting and policy implications”January CPI rose 2.8% yoy in the new CPI series with 2024 as the base year vs 1.3% in December under the old series with the base year of 2014.””Under the new CPI series, inflation returned to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI)…

Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee noted on Friday during an interview with Yahoo Finance that although interest rates are poised to come down further, moves on policy rates are contingent on further taming of services inflation.Key highlightsCPI data had some encouraging bits, and some concerns.We’re still seeing pretty-high services inflation.I hope we’ve seen the peak impact of tariffs.Strong January job data hopefully a sign of stability. Job market has been steady and only modest cooling.I think interest rates can still go down a fair bit more.We just need to see the progress on inflation.Rates can still…

The US Dollar (USD) lost major ground over the week, briefly gaining some strength after better-than-expected United States (US) jobs data, as the January Nonfarm Payrolls report showed 130K new jobs were added. Also, the Unemployment Rate fell to 4.3% from 4.4%. The US released a softer-than-expected January Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on Friday, weighing on the USD.The US Dollar Index (DXY) is trading near 96.80, declining from 97.15 highs following the release of soft inflation CPI data that fueled bets on a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut later in the year. Next week, the spotlight heads to Friday…

Standard Chartered’s Senior Economist Tommy Wu raises Taiwan’s 2026 GDP growth forecast to 8.0% from 3.8%, citing strong Q4-2025 expansion and robust global semiconductor demand. The bank expects economic momentum to stay firm through 2026, supported by booming ICT and electronics exports and a recent US trade deal, while growth remains uneven and income disparity may widen.AI-driven export boom lifts outlook”We raise our 2026 GDP growth forecast to 8.0% (from 3.8%) following strong Q4-2025 growth of 12.7% y/y and 2025 growth of 8.7%. The forecast upgrade in part reflects Q4’s strong q/q growth momentum (at 5.4%). While we expect some…

USD/CAD trades in a tight range on Friday, as the US Dollar (USD) holds firm despite softer-than-expected US inflation data. At the time of writing, USD/CAD is hovering near 1.3625, holding modest gains and remaining on the front foot for a third consecutive day.US inflation data released earlier showed a softer headline print, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) could resume its rate-cutting cycle later this year.The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2% MoM in January, easing from 0.3% in December and undershooting market expectations of 0.3%. On an annual basis, headline CPI slowed to 2.4% YoY from 2.7%,…

ING’s Francesco Pesole highlights that the Norwegian Krone has rallied on a sharp CPI surprise and markets pricing out Norges Bank cuts for 2026. He views this as premature, expecting a return of inflation towards 3.0% and renewed rate-cut expectations by summer. For now, fair EUR/NOK valuation and attractive domestic rates support NOK, especially if risk sentiment stabilises.Krone supported by rates and valuation”The Norwegian krone had a very strong week before the equity selloff caused a partial correction yesterday. The big jump in Norwegian CPI (January data, released on Tuesday) has prompted markets to price out any rate cut by…

The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled for the day 3 paise lower at 90.64 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, tracking the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and a negative trend in domestic equities. Forex traders said the rupee traded in a narrow range with a weakening bias as a firm dollar limited the upside for emerging market currencies, including the rupee.At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.69 against the US dollar, and touched an intraday high of 90.60 and a low of 90.79 during the day..At the…

The Indian rupee was little changed on Friday as pressure from weak local stocks and elevated interbank dollar demand met likely central bank intervention to defend the currency, traders said.The rupee closed at 90.6350 per dollar, down marginally from its close at 90.59 in ‌the previous ⁠session. ⁠The currency was little changed week-on-week.Maturity of positions in the non-deliverable forwards market added ​to the strain on the rupee on Friday, alongside a risk-off mood in global ​equities weighed by lingering concerns over the impact of artificial intelligence and shrinking tech sector margins.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares fell more than 1%…