CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Taiwan is on Tuesday scheduled to release January figures for imports, exports and trade balance, highlighting a modest day in Asia-Pacific economic activity. Imports are expected to plummet 17.1 percent on year after easing 2.7 percent in December. Exports are tipped to plunge 17.0 percent on year following the 0.6 percent increase in the previous month. The trade balance is expected to show a surplus of $2.3 billion, roughly unchanged from the December reading. Japan will release the preliminary results of its leading and coincident indexes for December. The leading index is expected to show a score of 93.8, up from 93.2 in November. The coincident is called at 93.1, up from 90.3 in the previous month. The Reserve Bank of Australia will conclude its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates. Analysts are split on whether the bank will keep rates unchanged at 4.25 percent or trim rates by 25 basis points to 4.00 percent. The Philippines will announce inflation figures for January, with analysts expecting the rate to come in at 4.0 percent - easing from 4.2 percent in December. Finally, the Malaysia stock market will be closed on Tuesday in observance of Thaipusam. It will re-open on Wednesday.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX