For the week ahead in Asia, the calendar is packed with inflation releases, trade data, and confidence surveys, alongside two central-bank decisions in Thailand and South Korea.
The week begins with Singapore's January inflation figures and New Zealand's fourth-quarter retail sales data. On Tuesday, attention turns to China's loan prime rates and South Korea's producer prices data.
Wednesday brings the region's first interest rate decision in Thailand, with inflation updates rolling in from Australia and Hong Kong.
Thursday brings South Korea's policy decision, along with a business confidence survey in New Zealand and more produce price data, this time from Malaysia.
The week wraps Friday with a heavy slate of macro data from Japan, plus India's quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate and trade figures from Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Here's what to watch in the week ahead.
MONDAY, Feb. 23
The week kicked off with Singapore's January inflation data.
Singapore's core inflation fell to 1% year on year in January from 1.2% in December 2025, missing the median forecast of 1.5% in a Reuters poll.
The headline consumer price index, representing overall inflation, climbed 1.4% year on year in January, faster than the 1.2% increase in the previous month.
New Zealand reported fourth-quarter 2025 retail sales data.
The total volume of seasonally adjusted retail sales in New Zealand reached NZ$26 billion, up 0.9% in the December 2025 quarter compared with the previous quarter.
TUESDAY, Feb. 24
Focus shifts on Tuesday to China's one-year and five-year loan prime rates, with markets expecting no change to the current rates of 3% and 3.5%, respectively, according to a consensus compiled by Trading Economics.
China has held its loan prime rates steady since May 2025.
South Korea will release the January producer price index (PPI) data. According to Trading Economics, producer prices are expected to soften to a rate of 1.7% year on year from the 1.9% recorded in December.
The PPI data will be accompanied by the release of February's consumer confidence report.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 25
Thailand's central bank will capture headlines on Wednesday as it convenes for its interest rate decision.
According to Trading Economics, the Bank of Thailand is expected to hold rates at 1.25%. Analysts at Citi Research similarly expect the central bank to keep rates unchanged but expect the Bank of Thailand to exhibit a dovish tilt due to a likely modest export slowdown in 2026, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Thailand will also report January trade figures the same day, with Trading Economics forecasting the country's trade deficit to widen to $2.1 billion from the $350 million recorded in December.
Australia's January inflation data will also be in the news.
Analysts expect January inflation to clock in at 3.7%, marginally softer than the 3.8% recorded in December, according to a consensus compiled by Trading Economics.
According to Westpac, a seasonal lift in fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as non-alcoholic beverages, will lead to inflation during the month. The firm also pointed to the end of cost-of-living rebates in electricity as an inflationary factor for January, but said it was forecasting inflation at a marginally lower rate of 3.6% when compared to the consensus.
"Higher electricity prices will underpin firm outcomes for headline inflation in January, with this partly offset by a fall in fuel prices in the month," CommBank, which is forecasting annual inflation of 3.7%, said in a preview.
Hong Kong will similarly report its January inflation data, with Trading Economics expecting the pace of price increase to soften marginally to 1.3% from the 1.4% the prior month.
Singapore and Hong Kong's final GDP growth rates for the fourth quarter will also make the rounds.
Singapore's economy expanded 6.9% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2025, faster than the 4.6% growth in the previous quarter, according to data released previously by the city's Department of Statistics.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's GDP grew 3.8% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 3.7% in the third quarter, according to previously released advance estimates released by the city's Census and Statistics Department.
Taiwan's January unemployment data will be due the same day.
Lastly, South Korea will release its business confidence survey for February.
According to ING, the consumer and business survey data due for release during the week should show improvements on the back of strong local equity performance and an optimistic view on the IT sector.
THURSDAY, Feb. 26
Another interest rate decision, this time in South Korea.
Analysts broadly expect the Bank of Korea to hold rates steady at 2.5% after the central bank dropped language pointing to possible easing at its January meeting, the Wall Street Journal reported.
"We believe the rate-cutting cycle ended last year, and the [Bank of Korea] will avoid suggesting possible hikes," economists at ING said in a preview.
Macao will report January trade figures, with Trading Economics forecasting the city's trade deficit to narrow to 9.5 billion pataca from the 10.6 billion pataca recorded in January.
Markets will also be on the lookout for a business confidence survey due for release in New Zealand.
CommBank said it expects business sentiment in February to remain above long-term averages. "We suspect that for many firms, things look and feel better," the bank, which is forecasting a result in the high 50's, said in a preview.
Westpac expressed a similar sentiment in its preview, saying the high levels of confidence were backed by higher levels of activity and employment when compared to a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Singapore will report industrial production growth figures for January while Malaysia reports PPI stats for the month.
FRIDAY, Feb. 27
Japan will dominate headlines as it releases a flurry of data, including the closely watched Tokyo core consumer price index for February, which markets will use as an early indicator for the overall inflation rate in the country.
Data is likely to show that core inflation excluding fresh food fell to 1.6% from the 2% increase witnessed in January as energy, utility, and food prices softened, according to ING. Importantly, the below 2% reading should allow the Bank of Japan to maintain its current 0.75% rate at the March meeting, the bank said.
Japan will also release January retail sales and industrial production data.
"Industrial production and retail sales are likely to increase significantly in January, aided by fiscal spending and solid winter bonuses," ING said in a preview.
Thailand similarly reports December retail sales and industrial production figures on Friday, while Macao reports January inflation stats and fourth-quarter retail sales data.
Macao will additionally report unemployment stats on the same day.
Outside the region, India reports its GDP growth rate for the December quarter. Trading Economics is forecasting a growth of 7.8% for the quarter, compared with 8.2% in the prior three-month period.
Economists at Citi Research placed their forecast at about 8%, citing high-frequency data that suggests resilient growth during the December quarter, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Hong Kong and the Philippines' January trade figures will also be in focus on Friday.
Trading Economics expects Hong Kong's trade deficit to narrow to HK$2 billion from the HK$63.3 billion reported in December, while the Philippines' trade deficit is expected to widen to $3.8 billion from $3.53 billion.
The Philippines will also report January PPI data on Friday, joining Singapore, which will release PPI stats, as well as export and import prices for the month.
Meanwhile, both Taiwan and New Zealand will release February consumer confidence surveys.
CommBank said it expected consumer confidence to edge higher in February thanks to a rise in employment and prospects for further recovery in the labor market, as well as modest declines in effective mortgage rates.
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