If it were solely down to the economic numbers coming out of China, investors might be reacting differently. By many measures the country’s re-opening from nearly three years of Covid lockdown has gone better than expected – China’s economic surprises index last week hit a 17-year high.
Figures on Tuesday are expected to show gross domestic product expanding 4.0% from a year ago and rising 2.9% from the October-December period.
The annual readings of growth in urban investment, industrial output and retail sales for March are all seen rising strongly too, especially retail sales – economists expect a 7.4% rise, more than double February’s 3.5% increase.
Indonesia’s central bank, meanwhile, is widely expected to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 5.75% for a third consecutive meeting, and for the rest of 2023.
Although inflation has been cooling since September, March’s reading of 4.97% was still above Bank Indonesia’s target range of 2%-4%. Policymakers are confident, however, that previous tightening will get it back to target later this year.
