Thursday remained rather quiet on the data front in Asia, with a small number of reports from economies in the region.
A report released by the World Bank said the Chinese GDP growth has moderated to a more sustainable pace and the economy is projected to expand at a 9.8% rate in 2008, slowing from an upwardly revised 11.9% in 2007. The World Bank has raised its 2008 growth forecast for China from the 9.4% estimated in April. Additionally, the World Bank expects the growth to moderate further to 9.2% in 2009.
In Japan, economic activity increased 0.8% month-on-month in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. That was higher than the 0.3% revised monthly increase in March and also above analyst expectations for a 0.4% rise.
The Ministry of Finance reported that Japanese investors sold a net 175.9 billion yen in foreign bonds last week, after buying a revised 404.6 billion yen worth in the previous week. Foreign investors, on the other hand, bought a net 153.7 billion yen worth of Japanese stocks last week.
India's net direct tax collections in the first two months of April and May of the current fiscal year grew 71.28%, data released by the Ministry of Finance showed.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.