Asia Week Ahead: Interest Rate Decisions; Inflation Prints; Trade Numbers
The week ahead in Ahead is packed with key releases, starting with industrial production data from Japan and inflation numbers from India.Tuesday will see a slew of data from China, alongside India's trade figures and unemployment rate.Mid-week, all eyes will be on an interest rate decision from the U.S., with a rate hike expected. Japan will post its trade data and machinery orders.On Thursday, Singapore will publish trade numbers and unemployment rate, with an interest rate decision in Japan being the key release to close the week.MONDAY, Sept. 14Japan's industrial production rose 3.9% year over year in July, slower than a 4.9% growth in the previous month.India's annual wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rate increased to 9.92% year over year in August, up from 9.78% in July.Additionally, Hong Kong's index of industrial production for manufacturing industries jumped 2.3% year over year in the second quarter, slower than a 3.1% rise in the first quarter.India will publish consumer price index numbers for August later today, with a rise to 4.7% expected by ING economists.TUESDAY, Sept. 15China will release a slew of economic data on Tuesday.Industrial output for the month is expected to rise to 4.9% in August from 4.5% in July, while retail sales may inch up to 0.7% from 0.6% earlier, according to economists at ING.The country will also publish its unemployment rate and house price index for the month of August.Elsewhere, India will post August trade and unemployment figures, while South Korea will also publish export and import price data.WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16The U.S. Fed may increase rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday amid persistent inflation and strong jobs numbers, according to the Wall Street Journal.Investors will also look for signs of potential rate changes in the upcoming months.Elsewhere, Japan's trade deficit is expected to come in at 1.053 trillion yen in August, with export and imports rising 18.2% and 26.3% respectively, according to market consensus forecast data posted by ING.Machinery orders for July are projected to rise 9.2% year over year.THURSDAY, Sept. 17Experts at ING expect Taiwan to hike its interest rate to 2.13% from 2% previously.Commerzbank Research analysts also project a rate hike by 12.5 basis points, while Citi economists expect rate policy to remain unchanged, the WSJ said.Singapore will publish trade data for August and unemployment rate for the second quarter.Non-oil domestic exports are expected to increase to 35% year over year, at a quicker pace than 24.2% in July, the WSJ said, citing DBS economists.Elsewhere, Hong Kong will publish unemployment data and export and import volume numbers.FRIDAY, Sept. 18Japan is also projected to raise its interest rate to 1.25% from 1%, according to ING experts.The country may see a slight rise in August inflation to 2% from 1.9% previously, while core inflation is expected to remain unchanged at 1.8%, market consensus forecast data from ING showed.Malaysia is projected to post a rise in August inflation to 1.96% from 1.8% in July, the WSJ said, citing a note by Zhaopeng Xing, an economist at ANZ.The country will also report trade numbers.Elsewhere, South Korea will publish producer price index data for August.
