China is set to publish its February data for imports, exports, and trade balance on Thursday, contributing to a day of moderate economic activity in the Asia-Pacific region. Imports are forecasted to grow by 2.0 percent year on year, following a 0.2 percent increase in January. Similarly, exports are predicted to rise by an annual 2.5 percent, a slight increase from 2.3 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is expected to reach $110.30 billion, a considerable leap from $75.34 billion a month ago.
Australia is scheduled to provide January data for its trade balance, as well as imports, exports, and home loans. During the previous month, imports increased by 4.8 percent on a monthly basis while exports went up by 1.8 percent. Australia's trade surplus stood at A$10.959 billion, even as home loans decreased by 5.6 percent on a month-to-month basis.
Japan, meanwhile, is set to release its January figures for average cash earnings. Projections indicate an increase of 1.3 percent year on year, which represents an improvement from the 1.0 percent of December.
Finally, Taiwan will publish its February inflation data. In January, the island nation saw a monthly inflation increase of 0.21 percent and an annual rise of 1.79 percent.
