Australia Unemployment Data Due On Thursday

(RTTNews) - Australia will on Thursday release November numbers for unemployment, setting the pace for a busy day in Asia-Pacific economic activity.

The jobless rate is expected to hold steady at 7.0 percent, with the addition of 50,000 jobs following the gain or 178,800 jobs in October. The participation rate is expected to rise to 66.0 percent from 65.8 percent a month earlier.

New Zealand will provide Q3 numbers for gross domestic product, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 13.5 percent on quarter and a decline of 1.3 percent on year. That follows the 12.2 percent quarterly drop and the 12.4 percent yearly fall in the previous three months.

Singapore will release November trade data and Q3 figures for unemployment. In October, non-oil exports were down 5.3 percent on month and 3.1 percent on year for a trade surplus of SGD4.36 billion. The jobless rate is pegged at 3.6 percent, up from 2.8 percent in the second quarter.

The central bank in Indonesia will wrap up 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 3.75 percent. The deposit and lending facility rates are also called steady at 3.0 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.

The central bank in the Philippines is also scheduled to announce its interest rate decision, with expectations suggesting no move at 2.0 percent.

The de facto central bank in Taiwan is expected to announce its decision on interest rates, with forecast calling it unchanged at 1.125 percent.

Hong Kong will release November unemployment figures; in October, the jobless rate was 6.4 percent.