New Zealand Rate Decision Due On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Wednesday and then announce its decision on interest rates, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The RBNZ is expected to keep its Official Cash Rate steady at 2.25 percent.

New Zealand also will see Q4 data on producer prices. PPI inputs are seen higher by 0.5 percent on quarter, up from 0.2 percent in Q3. Outputs are tipped to rise 0.7 percent, up from 0.6 percent in the three months prior.

Japan will release January figures for imports, exports and trade balance. In December, imports were up 5.2 percent on year and exports rose an annual 12.0 percent for a trade deficit of 113.5 billion yen.

Australia will provide Q4 numbers for its wage price index; in the previous three months, wages were up 0.8 percent on quarter and 3.4 percent on year.

Finally, the markets in South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong remain closed for the Lunar New Year.