Australia Trade Balance, Retail Sales Data Due Thursday

(RTTNews) - Australia will on Thursday release January numbers for retail sales and trade balance, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

Retail sales are expected to add 0.4 percent on month after gaining 0.2 percent in December. The trade balance is expected to show a deficit of A$925 million following the A$436 million shortfall in the previous month.

The Philippines will provide January numbers for producer prices and February data for consumer prices. PPI was down 0.8 percent on month and 2.9 percent on year in December, while CPI added 0.3 percent on month and 2.4 percent on year in January.

Thailand will see February results for its consumer confidence index; in January, the index score was 69.7.

The central bank in Malaysia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates; the bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold at 3.25 percent.