Asia’s exports slip on oil

The surge of Asian currencies against the US dollar and the unrelenting oil price hike have begun to pinch. As most countries in the region are heavily dependent on imported oil, their trade surpluses have begun to shrink and exports have become costlier. Though export volumes are already taking a beating, it will get worse as the loss of competitiveness becomes starker in the second half of the year. And falling consumer demand in North America and Western Europe is not helping