Japan Data On Tap For Tuesday

(RTTNews) - Japan is scheduled to release a raft of data on Tuesday, setting the pace for a busy day in Asia-Pacific economic news. On tap are August figures for industrial production, household spending, unemployment, retail sales, housing starts, vehicle production and construction orders, plus September results for the small business confidence index.

Industrial production is expected to add 0.2 percent on month and fall 1.1 percent on year after gaining 0.4 percent on month and losing 0.7 percent on year in July. Household spending is tipped to decline 3.6 percent on year after falling 5.9 percent in the previous month, while the jobless rate is expected to hold steady at 3.8 percent.

Retail sales are forecast to add 0.5 percent on month and 0.1 percent on year after losing 0.5 percent on month and gaining 0.5 percent n year in July. Housing starts are tipped to plummet 14.2 percent on year after losing 14.1 percent a month earlier. Construction orders surged an annual 24.4 percent in July, while vehicle production dipped 1.7 percent. The small business confidence index had a score of 47.7 in August.

China will see final September results for the HSBC manufacturing PMI; little change is expected from the flash estimate earlier this month that suggested a score of 50.5.

Australia will provide August data on private sector credit, with analysts expecting an increase of 0.5 percent on month and 5.2 percent on year. That follows the 0.4 percent monthly increase and the 5.1 percent annual expansion in July.

New Zealand will see August numbers for building permits, plus September results for business confidence. Building permits are expected to be flat on month after adding 0.1 percent in July. The business confidence index had a score of 24.4 in August, while the outlook came in at 36.6.

South Korea will release August numbers for industrial production, with analysts expecting an increase of 0.4 percent on month and 2.5 percent on year - slowing from the 1.1 percent monthly increase and the 3.4 percent annual gain in July.

Thailand will provide trade data for August; in July, imports were worth $17.25 billion and exports were at $18.70 billion for a trade surplus of $1.45 billion.

Malaysia will see August data for producer prices; in July, PPI was down 0.3 percent on month and up 1.8 percent on year.