The Philippine central bank surprised with a 50 basis point hike to 5.50% as inflation hit 7.2%, while Turkey cut to 36% and Korea held at 3.00%. Real policy rates across seven emerging markets now span roughly +6.3 to −1.7 percentage points.
The Bank of Korea paused at 3.00% after July and August hikes, leaving further tightening on the table as chip-led growth is seen running well above August forecasts. Source
One energy shock hit emerging markets this week, and their central banks drew opposite conclusions from it. Take each policy rate, subtract the latest headline inflation print, and the spread across the group runs to about 8 percentage points. That is my arithmetic, not an official measure.
