Tighter belts in Asia – Sound Economies with Mel & Peter, 21 May 2026
Developing Asia is feeling more squeezed as oil prices stay high. We look at further demand reduction measures in the Philippines to avert stagflation, Thailand’s new debt for additional consumer subsidies, and India winding down fuel support. We also turn down Indonesia’s planned export controls on coal and palm oil, and revisit our expectations for global stocks in 2026.
Timestamp:
(00:00) – Episode rundown
(00:18) – Intro
(00:46) – Quick updates
(02:35) – Danantara’s new export controls on coal, palm oil
(08:00) – Managing oil prices and domestic demand in the Philippines and Thailand
(13:03) – India PM slows down fuel subsidies
(18:55) – Our conviction vs market forecast on global stocks
(25:41) – Our global outlook
“Sound Economies with Mel & Peter” is a weekly podcast where our founding CEO Peter Lundgreen and Manila-based Chief Economist for Southeast Asia and China Mel Lopez discuss what’s happening in economies around the world and their views of the global financial markets.
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