Most manufacturing PMIs in Asia declined in October. This reflects continued weakness across Asian manufacturing sectors, on the back of the ongoing global slowdown and trade tensions. Economies that had been holding up better, such as Thailand and Vietnam, are also starting to soften. Manufacturing PMIs in both countries declined to 50 points. In the case of Vietnam, this is the lowest level in nearly four years. The index in Taiwan fell back into contraction after a blip into expansion in September. PMIs in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Japan slid further into contraction. They rose in Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore, but are still in contraction territory. Looking at the breakdown, new export orders indices almost all declined, even for the economies that saw rises in their headline PMIs. In this context, policy support is likely to continue across the region. In October, central banks in Australia, China, India, South Korea and Singapore eased their monetary policies further.
