ING analysts see Taiwan’s external demand remaining a key growth driver, led by technology exports. They expect export orders to stay very strong, even as the year-on-year rate moderates.

DBS economists Taimur Baig and Radhika Rao anticipate Singapore’s April 2026 non-oil domestic exports to rise 11.5% year-on-year, marking an eighth consecutive month of expansion after 15.3% in March.

ING’s Min Joo Kang expects Japan’s economy to maintain similar growth to the previous quarter, with first-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) seen rising 0.3% quarter-on-quarter.

OCBC's strategist Christopher Wong says Asian FX remains constrained by a firm Dollar and higher US yields, despite some optimism around US–China talks. The Renminbi (RMB) is the main outperformer on lower USD/CNY fixes and policy-tolerated appreciation, but broader Asia FX stays soft.

United States CFTC S&P 500 NC Net Positions declined to $-143.8K from previous $-103.9K

Japan CFTC JPY NC Net Positions fell from previous ¥-61.7K to ¥-75.1K

United States CFTC Gold NC Net Positions climbed from previous $163.3K to $171.6K

United States CFTC Oil NC Net Positions fell from previous 178.8K to 169.9K

United Kingdom CFTC GBP NC Net Positions up to £-43.1K from previous £-63.9K

Eurozone CFTC EUR NC Net Positions climbed from previous €32.2K to €40.2K

Australia CFTC AUD NC Net Positions rose from previous $78.7K to $85K

UOB’s Global Economics & Markets Research, led by Julia Goh and Loke Siew Ting, notes Malaysia’s 1Q26 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 5.4% year-on-year, slightly above estimates but slower than 4Q25.

DBS Group Research economist Samuel Tse assesses how recent US-China talks are shaping the outlook for Chinese growth and Chinese Yuan (CNY) rates. He highlights a more constructive bilateral tone, prospects for improved US market access, and potential easing of trade frictions.

ING economists Deepali Bhargava, Lynn Song and Min Joo Kang expect Bank Indonesia (BI) to shift toward a tighter stance at its upcoming meeting. They highlight recent Indonesian Rupiah weakness, ongoing FX intervention and wider rate differentials versus the United States.

Colombia Gross Domestic Product (YoY) in line with expectations (2.2%) in 1Q

TD Securities’ James Rossiter and Julie Ioffe argue that Prime Minister Starmer is likely to be replaced by late September, with Labour’s leadership race centering on Burnham, Streeting, Rayner and Miliband.

Colombia Retail Sales (YoY) came in at 13.4%, above expectations (10.1%) in March

Societe Generale economists highlights that Eurozone 2026 GDP forecasts have been cut more than United States (US) projections in percentage terms, reinforcing United States (US) outperformance.

DBS economists Taimur Baig and Radhika Rao expect Japan’s 1Q Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow 1.8% QoQ saar, supported by firm exports and AI- and semiconductor-related investment, keeping their 0.5% full-year GDP forecast on track.

Commerzbank's Commodity Analyst Barbara Lambrecht reports that focus in London is turning to Platinum group metals as the World Platinum Investment Council prepares updated forecasts.

TD Securities’ Senior Canada Economist Robert Both expects Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation to rise to 3.1% year-on-year in April, driven mainly by higher energy and food prices and base effects from last year’s carbon tax changes.

TradingKey - On May 15, Eastern Time, the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield broke through the 4% threshold, the 10-year yield rose to 4.53%, and the 30-year yield stood firmly above 5%, marking its highest l

Industrial Production in the United States (US) expanded by 0.7% on a monthly basis in April, the Federal Reserve (Fed) reported on Friday. This print followed the 0.3% contraction reported in March and came in better than the market expectation for an increase of 0.3%.

United States Industrial Production (MoM) came in at 0.7%, above forecasts (0.3%) in April

United States Capacity Utilization came in at 76.1%, above forecasts (75.8%) in April

Commerzbank’s Thu Lan Nguyen notes that Aluminium production in China has exceeded official caps thanks to high prices and ample alumina, but this may not fully offset disrupted Gulf supply.

Russia Central Bank Reserves $ increased to $771B from previous $757.5B

Societe Generale’s Kit Juckes notes that while US yields have risen sharply since the conflict with Iran, the Dollar’s appreciation has been relatively modest because rates have also increased elsewhere.

KOSPI, the South Korean stock benchmark, soared to an all-time high of 8,046.78 on Friday, driven by a rally in the tech sector. AI-related technology and semiconductors led the advance, which later reversed amid massive profit-taking.

DBS Group Research’s Radhika Rao notes that India’s latest fuel price hike reflects higher global crude costs and aims to moderate domestic demand and imports.