For the week ahead in Asia, the economic calendar is packed with purchasing managers' surveys, inflation updates and a pair of closely watched central bank decisions.
The week begins with a wave of S&P Global manufacturing PMIs across the region, alongside trade and inflation data from Indonesia and a business sentiment update from Singapore.
On Tuesday, attention turns to the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy rate decision, while South Korea's inflation report and Hong Kong retail sales add to the day's data slate.
Wednesday brings services and composite PMIs for several major economies and New Zealand's fourth-quarter labor data, before Thursday's calendar ramps up with inflation prints in Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines, plus Indonesia's fourth-quarter GDP and Australia's trade figures.
The week wraps on Friday with India's central bank decision alongside a heavy batch of Vietnam macro data and Philippine industrial production and labor figures.
Here's what to watch in the week ahead.
MONDAY, Feb. 2
The week kicked off with a flurry of Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) reports from S&P Global covering manufacturing activity in the region, including from India, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Philippine, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and Australia.
China's manufacturing sector saw improvements at the start of 2026 due to increasing business inflows, but business confidence continues to wane, according to RatingDog, the rebranded Caixin/S&P Global China PMI.
The RatingDog Purchasing Manager's Index rose to 50.3 in January from 50.1 in December 2025, the fastest in three months, the rating agency reported.
In Japan, manufacturing returned to expansion after the au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 51.5 from 50 in December, marking the first improvement in operating conditions since June and the strongest reading since August 2022.
Australia's manufacturing sector also started the year with its fastest growth in five months, with the headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Australia Manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index rising to 52.3 in January from 51.6 in December.
Expansion was also witnessed in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, India, and the Philippines, according to the reports.
Indonesia reported trade and inflation figures.
Indonesia's exports in December 2025 rose 11.6% annually to $26.35 billion, while imports grew 10.8% year-on-year to $23.83 billion. The country recorded a trade surplus of $41.05 billion in 2025, data showed.
Indonesia's consumer prices rose 3.55% year on year in January, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at 109.75. Core inflation rose 2.45% year-on-year, while it increased 0.37% month-on-month, data showed.
Elsewhere, the Melbourne Institute said its monthly inflation gauge rose in January, with annual headline inflation reaching 3.6% in Australia, mainly driven by higher housing costs after the end of federal energy rebates and an increase in education prices.
Singapore released its latest business confidence report, noting that businesses had a positive outlook for the first half of the year. Around 15% of firms expressed optimism about business conditions, while 11% were projecting deteriorating conditions, resulting in a net weighted balance of 4% of firms expecting a favorable outlook.
The Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management's manufacturing PMI for January is due later Monday.
TUESDAY, Feb. 3
Australia's central bank is all but guaranteed to hike interest rates at its policy meeting.
Each of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac, and the National Australia Bank said they expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise rates by 25 basis points to 3.85%.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia cited trimmed mean inflation, which is sitting well above the target band for two quarters, a strengthening economy, and a falling trend in unemployment as reasons for its expectation. Both Westpac and NAB cited similar reasons.
South Korea's January inflation figures will also be highlighted during the day. Price increases are expected to soften to a rate of 2.1% year on year from the 2.3% witnessed in December, according to a median forecast from a Wall Street Journal poll of nine economists.
Hong Kong reports December retail sales figures the same day, while Taiwan and Thailand release consumer and business confidence reports, respectively.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 4
Markets will turn their attention to another slate of releases from S&P Global, this time covering services and composite PMIs for India, China, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and Australia.
Observers will also be awaiting the release of fourth quarter labor data from New Zealand.
Westpac expects the unemployment rate to remain at 5.3% for the December quarter.
"While this will likely mark the peak in the unemployment rate for this cycle, we expect the improvement to be gradual over the next year, and the existing slack in the labour market means that wage pressures are likely to remain contained for some time," Westpac said in a preview.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia forecasted unemployment at a slightly lower rate of 5.2%, noting that it expected to see the first climb in annual labor force growth in more than a year thanks to increases in the working age population and labor force participation.
THURSDAY, Feb. 5
A number of January inflation prints are scheduled for the day.
Consumer prices in Taiwan are expected to edge down to 1.2% year on year from the 1.3% recorded in December, ING said in a preview.
In Thailand, deflationary pressure is expected to continue as DBS's economics team forecasts a 0.1% drop in prices due to continued decline in oil prices and muted demand-side impulses, the Wall Street Journal reported. Thailand's consumer prices recorded a 0.28% annual decline in December.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the pace of price increases is expected to soften to 1.6% year on year from the 1.8% witnessed in December, the WSJ reported citing economists at ANZ.
All three inflation prints will inform interest rate expectations in their respective regions, according to the WSJ.
Markets will also be on the lookout for Indonesia's fourth-quarter GDP growth figures. Observers expect the Indonesian economy to have recorded a 5% growth in 2025, according to a consensus compiled by Trading Economics.
Trading Economics expects the quarterly growth to come in at 5.2% year on year. ANZ economists similarly estimate GDP growth of 5.1% and expect the data to capture the effect of stimulus measures ever since a new finance minister was sworn in in September, the WSJ reported.
Australia reports December trade figures the same day with analysts offering differing views on whether the country's surplus will widen or narrow. A consensus compiled by Trading Economics indicated a trade surplus of A$3.4 billion, rising from the A$2.94 billion recorded in November.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia expects the trade surplus to rise to A$3.7 billion, citing higher commodity prices which may have supported export volumes. "Non-monetary gold trade remains a wild card," the bank noted.
In contrast, Westpac said it expects the trade surplus to narrow to A$2.6 billion, citing weakness in coal exports and a rise in imports of consumer goods.
Singapore's December retail sales figures are also scheduled for release Thursday.
FRIDAY, Feb. 6
India's central bank meets for its latest monetary policy decision, with markets widely expecting the Reserve Bank of India to hold interest rates steady at 5.25%.
A slew of macro data from Vietnam is scheduled for release, including inflation figures, industrial production, trade data, and retail sales growth.
Trading Economics expects Vietnam to record a trade surplus of $2.5 billion in January, compared to a deficit of $660 million in the month prior.
Inflation is expected to ease marginally to 3.4% year on year from nearly 3.5% in December, according to a Trading Economics forecast.
Meanwhile, the Philippines reports December industrial production figures and unemployment rate on the same day.
