TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Japan is scheduled to release a raft of data on Friday, headlining a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are January figures for household spending, unemployment and inflation, as well as February numbers for monetary base.
Household spending is expected to decline 0.9 percent on year following the 0.5 percent increase in December. The unemployment rate is tipped to come in at 4.5 percent, easing from 4.6 percent in the previous month. The inflation rate is called lower by 0.1 percent after falling 0.2 percent a month earlier - while core CPI is tipped at -0.2 percent after easing 0.1 percent in December. The monetary base saw an increase of 15.0 percent on year in January.
South Korea will provide inflation data for February, with analysts expecting the rate to come in at 3.1 percent - down from 3.4 percent in January.
New Zealand will announce commodity price figures for February; prices climbed 1.2 percent on month in January.
Thailand will release consumer confidence data for the economy in February, with forecasts suggesting a score of 65, up from 64 in January.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX