BoJ Rate Decision On Tap For Friday

(RTTNews) - The Bank of Japan will on Friday conclude its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates, setting the pace for a busy day in Asia-Pacific economic activity. The central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate at 0 to 0.10 percent.

Japan also will see June figures for current account; July numbers for bank lending, bankruptcies and the eco watchers survey; and Q2 data for housing loans.

The current account is expected to show a deficit of 325 .7 billion yen after showing a surplus of 522.8 billion yen in May. Bank lending was up 2.5 percent on year in June, while bankruptcies dipped 3.6 percent on year in the previous month. The eco watchers survey saw a score of 47.7 for current conditions in June, and a reading of 53.3 for outlook. Housing loans gained 2.9 percent on year in Q1.

China will release July numbers for imports, exports and trade balance. Imports are expected to add 3.0 percent on year after gaining 5.5 percent in June. Exports are called higher by 7.5 percent, accelerating from 7.2 percent in the previous month. The trade balance is tipped to show a surplus of $26.00 billion, down from $31.56 billion a month earlier.

Australia will provide June figures for housing loans, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.6 percent on month following the flat reading in May. The value of loans was down 0.7 percent on month in May, while investment lending dipped 0.9 percent.

Also, the Reserve Bank of Australia will release its quarterly statement on monetary policy.