Disinflation grips Asia amid rising debt risks: Morgan Stanley

Washington

DISINFLATION is becoming "entrenched" throughout Asia, creating economic headwinds and making it tougher for governments to control debt, Morgan Stanley analysts said.

China and South Korea are among seven of 10 major Asian economies excluding Japan that are experiencing producer-price deflation, reflecting a loss of corporate pricing power and weaker commodity prices, analysts led by Chetan Ahya in Hong Kong wrote in a report on Tuesday. Officials' reluctance to ease monetary policy threatens to exacerbate the issue, they said.