Japan Data On Tap For Friday

(RTTNews) - Japan is scheduled to release a raft of data on Friday, setting the pace for a busy day in Asia-Pacific economic activity.

On tap are October numbers for current account and labor cash earnings, plus November figures for bank lending and the eco watchers survey, and final Q3 data for gross domestic product.

The current account is expected to show a surplus of 1.730 billion yen, down from 2.271 billion yen in September. Labor cash earnings are tipped to rise 0.8 percent on year after gaining 0.9 percent in the previous month.

Bank lending is expected to hold steady at 2.8 percent on year. The eco survey for current conditions is expected to show a score of 52.1, down from 52.2 in October, while the outlook is called at 54.0 - down from 54.9 a month earlier.

GDP is expected to be revised up to 0.4 percent on quarter and 1.5 percent on year - up from last month's preliminary reading that suggested a gain of 0.3 percent on quarter and 1.4 percent on year. GDP in the second quarter was up 0.6 percent on quarter and 2.6 percent on year.

China will release November numbers for imports, exports and trade balance. Imports are expected to add12.0 percent on year, slowing from 17.2 percent in October. Exports are called higher by 5.1 percent, slowing from 6.9 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $34.70 billion, down from $38.17 billion a month earlier.

Australia will provide October figures for home loans, with forecasts suggesting a decline of 2.0 percent on month following the 2.3 percent drop in September.