Japan is scheduled to release a batch of data on Friday, highlighting a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are January numbers for industrial production, retail sales, housing starts and construction orders, as well as February figures for Tokyo area consumer prices.
Industrial output is expected to climb 5.5 percent on month and easing 0.1 percent in December. Sales are seen higher by an annual 0.1 percent after slumping 0.9 percent in the previous month. Housing starts are tipped to fall 1.9 percent on year after losing 1.3 percent a month earlier. Construction orders rallied 20.2 percent on year in December. In January, overall Tokyo inflation was up 1.5 percent on year and core CPI rose 2.0 percent.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.