Friday, the scene remained relatively calm at the close of the week in Asia. Most significant was the news that the Japanese government is planning a third stimulus for the world's second largest economy. Elsewhere, official data revealed severe weakness in Singapore consumer spending.
Japan's Prime Minister, Taro Aso ordered ruling parties to craft additional stimulus measures that cover several fiscal years to combat recession in the second largest economy. Aso will seek ideas from economists and industry leaders next week.
The Mainichi newspaper reported that Japan's third stimulus plan might be worth 20 trillion yen. The new package is expected to support public work and address rising unemployment.
A final report from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry revealed that industrial production declined 10.2% in January from the previous month, revised down from a 10% fall estimated initially. Year-on-year, decline in production was 31%. In January, shipments were down 11.4% and inventory fell 2%. The ministry confirmed the preliminary estimate released on February 27.
Japanese household consumer confidence improved to 26.7 in February from 26.4 recorded in the prior month, a survey from the Economic and Social Research Institute showed. The indicator stood above the expected reading of 26.5. The survey was conducted on February 15 covering 6,720 households.
Retail sales in Singapore fell 8.3% month-on-month in January, following a 20.1% rise in the previous month, a report by the Department of Statistics said. Excluding motor vehicles, sales were down 5.7%. Removing price effects, retail sales declined 8.8% in January.
Year-on-year, retail sales dropped 12.2% in January, steeper than a 1.6% fall in December and economists' expectation of a 2% decline. Excluding motor vehicles sales, retail sales fell 3.3%.
In other news, official data revealed that Hong Kong industrial production declined 10.4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, after falling 6.7% in the previous three months. Meanwhile, the industrial producer price index climbed 3.9% on-year in the fourth quarter, at a slower pace than the 5.6% in the third quarter.
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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.