China Data On Tap For Thursday

(RTTNews) - China is scheduled to release a raft of data on Thursday, headlining a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are Q4 figures for gross domestic product, plus December data for retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment.

GDP is expected to add 1.7 percent on quarter and 6.7 percent on year following the 1.7 percent quarterly increase and the 6.8 percent yearly gain in Q3.

Retail sales are expected to hold steady at 10.2 percent, while industrial production is expected to be unchanged at 6.1 percent. FAI is called higher by 7.1 percent, down from 7.2 percent in November.

Australia will see unemployment numbers for December, with the jobless rate expected to hold steady at 5.4 percent. The Australian economy is expected to have added 15,000 jobs following the increase of 61.600 in November. The participation rate is expected to show no change at 65.5 percent.

Japan will see final November numbers for industrial production; in the previous release, output was called higher by 0.6 percent on month and 3.7 percent on year.

The Bank of Korea will wrap up its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates. The central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 1.25 percent.

The central bank in Indonesia will conclude its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates. The bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 4.25 percent.

Malaysia will release unemployment numbers for November; in October, the jobless rate was 3.5 percent and the participation rate was 68.0 percent.