ASEAN outlook falls further as trade war drags on

Concerns rise over market and geopolitical risks along with US-China tensions

Singapore’s growth drastically slowed largely because of a decrease in exports. Economists say the downturn is expected to continue. © Reuters

KIYOSHI KUSAKA, Principal economist, Japan Center for Economic Research

October 7, 2019 18:00 JST

The outlook for Asian economies has once again been lowered as the consequences of the U.S.-China trade war, such as decreased trade, spread across the region. The 2019 growth forecast for the five major Association of Southeast Asian Nation countries was revised down 0.2 points to 4.1%, marking the fifth consecutive downward revision since a September 2018 survey. The Indian growth forecast for fiscal 2019-2020 decreased 0.8% to 6.1%, its fourth consecutive downward revision.