Consumer price inflation in the People's Republic of China (PRC) rose to 6.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) in July from 6.4% in June. The increase in consumer prices was driven primarily by rising food costs. In contrast, the rate of increase for producer prices remained unchanged in July at 7.5% y-o-y. Retail sales in the PRC rose 17.2% y-o-y in July following 16.8% growth in June. Total fixed assets in the PRC expanded 25.4% y-o-y in the first 7 months of the year, with the bulk of the increase in fixed assets coming from the manufacturing sector. 

Hong Kong, China's GDP growth dramatically slowed in 2Q11 to 5.1% y-o-y from 7.5% y-o-y in 1Q11. Meanwhile, Singapore's GDP rose 0.9% y-o-y in 2Q11, down significantly from 9.3% growth in 1Q11. Japan's real GDP shrank at an annualized rate of 1.3% in 2Q11.Growth in the PRC's industrial value-added output slowed in July to 14.0% y-o-y from 15.1% in June. In Malaysia, the industrial production index rose 1.0% y-o-y in June, an improvement over the revised 5.6% decline in the previous month. Malaysia's manufacturing sales increased 12.9% y-o-y, up from revised growth of 7.5% in May. Machinery orders in Japan rose for a second straight month in June, increasing 17.9% y-o-y. 

The PRC's export growth rate increased to 20.4% y-o-y in July from 17.9% in June, due to strong demand from the European Union (EU). Japan's current account surplus narrowed to JPY526.9 billion in June from JPY590.7 billion in May as exports continued to suffer in the aftermath of the 11 March earthquake and tsunami. Philippine merchandise exports plunged 10.2% y-o-y in June-the largest decline since September 2009-due to weakened consumer demand in the United States (US) and EU. 

At its meeting on 9 August, Bank Indonesia's (BI) Board of Governors decided to keep its reference rate steady at 6.75%. The BI rate has been kept at this level since February. Also, the Bank of Korea decided on 11 August to hold the 7-day repurchase rate steady at 3.25%. Producer price inflation in the Republic of Korea climbed to 6.5% y-o-y in July from 6.2% in June.

The money supply (M3) in Japan expanded 2.3% y-o-y in July. In the Philippines, M3 growth quickened to 11.4% y-o-y in June from 8.0% in May, with domestic liquidity reaching PHP4.4 trillion. The Philippine's total outstanding government debt stood at PHP4.8 trillion in May, rising PHP65 billion from April.

Last week, Korea Eximbank issued CNH200 million worth of 1-year bonds at a coupon rate of 1.0%. Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Foods priced THB10 billion worth of bonds, including THB4 billion in 30-year bonds-Thailand's first-ever 30-year corporate bond. Thai property developer, Quality Houses, started book building for its THB2 billion bond issue last week. In Indonesia, property firm Agung Podomoro priced IDR1.2 trillion worth of bonds last week, while financing firm Clipan Finance Indonesia plans to issue up to IDR500 billion worth of bonds in mid-October.

Government bond yields fell last week for all tenors in the Republic of Korea and the Philippines, and for most tenors in the PRC; Hong Kong, China; Malaysia; Singapore; Thailand and Viet Nam, while yields rose for most tenors in Indonesia. Yield spreads between 2- and 10- maturities widened in the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and Viet Nam, while spreads narrowed in most other emerging East Asian markets.