Page 10 - Policy Economic Report - February 2023

Policy and Economic Report:
Oil & Gas Market

services, the growth of international tourism has been particularly strong due to improved
economic conditions

2. Asia’s Easing Economic Headwinds Make Way for Stronger Recovery- IMF Report
• The economic headwinds that faced Asia and the Pacific last year have started to fade. Global
financial conditions have eased, food and oil prices are down, and China’s economy is rebounding.
These developments are helping improve prospects across the region, with growth set to
accelerate to 4.7 % this year from 3.8 % in 2022.

• The region’s emerging and developing economies, are poised to expand by 5.3 % this year. These
economies are hitting their stride as pandemic supply-chain disruptions fade and the service
sector booms. China and India alone are expected to contribute more than half of global growth
this year. Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are all back to
their robust pre-pandemic growth.

• Asia’s inflation—which rose worryingly above central bank targets last year—is poised to
moderate. There are now encouraging signs that headline inflation peaked during the second half
of last year. IMF expects inflation to return to central bank targets next year amid an easing of
financial and commodity headwinds. Central banks in Asia have been hiking interest rates as they
tackle above-target inflation. These factors have helped Asian currencies rebound, with most
erasing about half of last year’s losses, which has eased pressure on domestic prices.

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