Malaysia's leading index, which anticipates economic direction in the near term, ticked up 0.3% month over month in July, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia on Friday.
The pace of growth was higher than the Trading Economics forecast of a 0.2% expansion.
On an annual basis, the index grew 1.1%.
The monthly contraction was primarily driven by real money supply (M1) and real imports of semiconductors, each contributing 0.1%.
Australia's trimmed mean inflation is expected to rise 0.4% month over month in August, which would strengthen the case for an interest rate increase in November on top of a hike anticipated in September, BofA Securities said in a Thursday note.The trimmed mean print, which is the central bank's preferred inflation gauge, is expected to jump 3.7% year over year, with BofA flagging housing and market services inflation as components to focus on.On a seasonally adjusted basis, the investment banking firm expects the headline consumer price index to increase by 0.9% month over month and 4.1% year over year in August, driven by a rebound in fuel prices.Higher oil prices along with the end of the fuel excise cut probably added 51 basis points to headline inflation for the month, it said."Housing inflation will be in focus given new dwelling costs rose strongly in the second quarter reflecting input cost pressures," BofA Securities said. It added, however, that soft housing demand should limit builders' ability to pass through higher costs.
Thailand approved its first national semiconductor and advanced electronics strategy, targeting about $80 billion in cumulative investment and $150 billion in annual industry revenue by 2050, the country's Board of Investment announced Thursday.The three-phase roadmap aims to strengthen assembly and testing by 2030, attract upstream investments including chip design and wafer fabrication by 2040, and establish a complete domestic supply chain by 2050.The strategy prioritizes photonics, power semiconductors and sensors, while targeting more than 230,000 new jobs. A workforce program aims to develop 86,600 people by 2030, including 84,900 highly skilled personnel and about 1,700 advanced researchers.From 2023 through the first half of 2026, BOI received investment-promotion applications for 879 semiconductor and advanced electronics projects worth about $27.2 billion, it said.
Britain's consumer confidence indicator rose to -13 points in September from -14 points in August, market research company Growth from Knowledge said Friday.The consensus estimate for the month was -16 points.