The Ministry of Finance is scheduled to auction 2.6 trillion yen ($17.35 billion) of 10-year sovereign debt on Tuesday and 900 billion yen of 30-year Japanese government bonds on Thursday. The 30-year JGB auction will be a reopening of the January 2025 issue, according to the ministry. Investors such as insurance companies and pension funds may show more demand for the 30-year JGB auction, given the higher yields on 30-year tenors than those on 10-year tenors.
SOUTH KOREA
The country's February headline inflation data due Thursday could show that price growth remained largely subdued at around the Bank of Korea's 2% annual target. That should allow room for the central bank to ease policy further to support the sagging economy.
Citigroup economists Jiuk Choi and Jin-Wook Kim expect the benchmark consumer-price index to have risen 2.2% from a year earlier in February, the same pace as in January, amid rising vegetable prices.
ASIAN PMIs
Monday is PMI day for Asia, taking the pulse of manufacturing activity in Japan, India, Taiwan, Indonesia and other economies in the region.
S&P Global's January data showed that Asia's manufacturing recovery remained soft, with growth in output and new orders cooling against the backdrop of growing trade tensions and uncertainty.
Several Asia-Pacific economies are at risk of higher U.S. trade tariffs, which target "bilateral trade surpluses, tariff differentials and other imbalances," S&P APAC economists wrote in a recent note. Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and South Korea are among the most vulnerable economies in the region as they have relatively greater economic exposure to the U.S., which in turn would mean a larger economic impact from tariffs, they wrote.
MALAYSIA
Bank Negara Malaysia is widely expected to keep its policy rate steady at 3.0% on Thursday amid stable inflation and domestic growth.
While investment and net export growth could slow, ANZ analysts expect household consumption to remain resilient, supported by a strong labor market. Although economic growth could moderate slightly, it should remain solid, and is unlikely to warrant any monetary policy adjustments, it added. ANZ thinks Bank Negara will keep its policy rate at 3.00% throughout 2025, it said.
TAIWAN
Taiwan will release its February inflation and trade data Friday. Economists widely expect the island economy's consumer inflation to ease from 2.66% in January, when spending had been boosted by the Lunar New Year holiday. The consumer-price index likely rose 1.8%, according to a Wall Street Journal poll. While services inflation likely lingered at elevated levels, goods inflation appeared more contained, Citi economists said in a note.
After only expanding by a moderate 4.4% in January, economists expect the chip-making powerhouse's exports to have jumped in February. While Citi expects February exports to have grown 8.2% from the prior-year period, Barclays projects growth at a whopping 28.1%. Economists say artificial-intelligence demand, along with some front-loading of shipments, should continue to support Taiwan's exports in the near term.
SOUTHEAST ASIA CPIs
Inflation prints for Southeast Asia will show how price trends are shaping up, as deflation concerns persist for Thailand, while price growth still looks contained for Indonesia and the Philippines.
Indonesia's February inflation print Monday will likely show headline inflation slowed further, reflecting a drag from base effects and the government's electricity tariff discount, ANZ said in a note. Looking ahead, inflation should return to Bank Indonesia's target from March, as electricity prices rebound after the end of the tariff discount program, ANZ added.
A higher base is likely to push Thailand's inflation lower in the coming months, Barclays analysts wrote in a note. They expect energy inflation to moderate due to a high base, while raw food inflation likely edged up.
For the Philippines, ANZ expects headline inflation to have eased in February from January. Rice prices will likely continue falling and drag food inflation lower, said Barclays.
--Any references to days are in local times.
--Additional reporting by James Glynn, Megumi Fujikawa, Amanda Lee, Ronnie Harui, Kwanwoo Jun, Emese Bartha and Paul Vieira
Write to Jessica Fleetham at jessica.fleetham@wsj.com and Hoi Shan Chan at hoishan.chan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 02, 2025 19:14 ET (00:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Clinton Mora is a reporter for Trending Insurance News. He has previously worked for the Forbes. As a contributor to Trending Insurance News, Clinton covers emerging a wide range of property and casualty insurance related stories.