On Wednesday, Japan is set to unveil a series of data reflecting the state of its economy, which is expected to impact the economic environment in the Asia-Pacific region. The data will cover industrial production, retail sales, housing starts for the month of December, and January's household confidence index.
Forecasts suggest that, for the month of December, industrial production will increase by 2.4% after a decline of 0.9% in November. Meanwhile, retail sales are expected to grow by 4.7% year on year, albeit at a slower pace than the 5.3% growth experienced in the preceding month.
Construction orders witnessed a significant 33.6% yearly surge in November. On the contrary, housing starts are anticipated to experience a yearly 6.2% decrease after having fallen 8.5% in the previous month. The household confidence index is projected to rise, achieving a score of 37.6, a slight increase from 37.2 in December.
South Korea is also set to release data for December, specifically for industrial production and retail sales. Industrial output is expected to grow by 0.5% monthly and 6% annually after a previous rise of 3.3% on a monthly basis and 5.3% on an annual basis in November. Retail sales are projected to grow by 0.5% month on month, a decrease from a 1% growth in November.
Down Under, Australia will reveal Q4 consumer price data and December's household credit numbers. Inflation is anticipated to gain 0.8% for the quarter and 4.3% for the year after previous increases of 1.2% quarterly and 5.4% annually. Private sector credit is expected to rise by 0.4% as it did in November.
China will reveal January numbers for its manufacturing, non-manufacturing, and composite indexes. These indexes scored 49.0, 50.4 and 50.3 respectively in December. Singapore will release Q4 unemployment data, with the previous quarter's unemployment rate standing at 2.0%.
Thailand will disclose December data for imports, exports, trade balance, current account, and industrial production. In November, imports were up 9.5% annually and exports grew by 3.9%, resulting in a trade deficit of $0.20 billion. The country registered a current account deficit of $1.20 billion, while industrial production fell by 4.71%.
Meanwhile, Taiwan is set to release preliminary Q4 figures for its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with projections indicating a year on year increase of 4.5%, a growth from 2.32% in the preceding quarter. Lastly, Hong Kong will disclose preliminary Q4 GDP data. In the third quarter, the city's GDP increased by 0.1% quarterly and 4.1% annually.
