On Thursday, Japan is set to disclose January statistics for industrial production, retail sales, construction orders, and housing starts. This multiple data release signifies a notable day for economic activity in the Asia-Pacific region.
Analysts predict a 6.7% monthly decline in industrial production following a 1.4% increase in December. Retail sales are projected to rise 2.3%, an improvement from the 3.1% growth in the previous month. Construction orders are anticipated to grow by 0.2% annually, a slight deceleration from the 0.4% increase experienced a month earlier. Meanwhile, housing starts are expected to decrease by 7.6% annually, building on the 4.0% decline in December.
For its part, Australia will release January figures for private sector credit and fourth-quarter data for private new capital expenditure. Credit growth is projected to hold steady at 0.4% monthly, while private capital expenditure is expected to increase by 0.4% quarterly following a 0.6% rise in the previous three months.
Thailand, on the other hand, is slated to reveal January data for imports, exports, trade balance, current account, and industrial production. In December, the country experienced a 1.7% annual decline in imports and a 3.0% increase in exports, which resulted in a trade surplus of $2.30 billion. The current account showed a surplus of $2.10 billion, while industrial production unfortunately dropped 6.27% annually.
Lastly, Taiwan will present forth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data and January figures for industrial production and unemployment rate. The country's GDP is expected to climb by 5.12% annually, an improvement from the 2.32% growth in the previous quarter. In December, industrial output dropped 3.99% annually while the unemployment rate stood at 3.4%.
