Japan Data Due On Friday

(RTTNews) - Japan is scheduled to release a raft of data on Friday, headlining a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are January figures for industrial production, retail sales, housing starts and construction orders, as well as February data for Tokyo inflation.

Industrial production is expected to slip 0.9 percent on month after falling 0.2 percent in December. Sales are expected to rise 3.9 percent, up from 3.5 percent in the previous month. In December, housing starts were down 2.5 percent on year and construction orders jumped 8.1 percent.

Overall Tokyo inflation is seen higher by 3.6 percent on year, up from 3.4 percent in January. Core CPI is expected to add an annual 2.3 percent, down from 2.5 percent in the previous month.

Australia will provide January numbers for private sector credit, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.5 percent on month - easing from 0.6 percent in December.

Thailand will see January figures for industrial production, imports, exports, trade balance and current account. In December, industrial production was down 2.11 percent on year, while imports jumped 13.4 percent, exports climbed 8,4 percent, the trade surplus was $1.90 billion and the current account surplus was $2.90 billion.

Finally, the markets in Taiwan are closed on Friday for Peace Memorial Day and will re-open on Monday.