China Trade Data On Tap For Thursday

(RTTNews) - China will on Thursday see April results for imports, exports and trade balance, highlighting a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

Imports are expected to rise 6.0 percent on year after slumping 1.9 percent in March. Exports are called higher by an annual 1.0 percent after tumbling 7.5 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is seen at $81.40 billion, up from $58.55 billion a month earlier.

Japan will see March figures for average cash earnings and for its leading and coincident indexes. Earnings are expected to rise 1.5 percent on year, easing from 2.0 percent in February. The leading index was up 2.3 percent on month in February, while the coincident fell 0.7 percent.

The central bank in Malaysia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates. The central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at 3.00 percent.

South Korea will see March data for its current account; in February, the current account surplus was $6.86 billion.

Australia will provide March numbers for building approvals, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 1.9 percent on month following the 1.9 percent decline in February.

Finally, the markets in Indonesia are closed for Ascension Day and will re-open on Monday.