28.09.202322:00:00UTC+00Japan Data On Tap For Friday

Japan is scheduled to release a batch of data on Friday, headlining a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are August numbers for unemployment, industrial production, retail sales, construction orders and housing starts, as well as September figures for Tokyo inflation and household confidence.

The unemployment rate is expected to ease to 2.6 percent from 2.7 percent in July, with the jobs-to-applicant ratio called steady at 1.29. Industrial production is tipped to slip 0.8 percent on month after sinking 1.8 percent in the previous month. Retail sales are seen higher by an annual 6.6 percent, slowing from 6.9 percent a month earlier.

Housing starts are expected to slump 8.9 percent on year after dropping 6.7 percent in July, while construction orders are seen steady at an annual 8.7 percent.

In August, Tokyo overall inflation was up 2.9 percent on year, while core CPI rose an annual 2.8 percent. The household confidence index is seen steady with a score of 36.2.

Australia will see August data for private sector credit, which is expected to be unchanged at 0.3 percent on month.

Thailand will provide August numbers for current account; in July, the current account deficit was $0.400 billion, with exports down 5.5 percent on year and imports down 12.0 percent on year.

Finally, the markets in South Korea remain closed on Friday for the Chuseok Festival, while Taiwan and China are down for the Mid-Autum Festival.