Inflation in China edged lower in December and it has started to come down across Asia, but the region’s governments face an uncomfortable year knowing that prices could roar back if they make any policy mis-steps.
Inflation, which soared across the region in 2011, may be falling but it remains high. Asian countries will have to be more cautious in stimulating their slowing economies than in 2008, when lower inflation allowed them to unleash waves of fiscal spending and monetary easing to power the regional recovery, analysts said.
Such caution could be a disappointment for global markets, which have been looking towards Asia to drive global growth as the American recovery sputters along and Europe relapses into recession.