After a heavy dose of releases last week, Asia's macro calendar will be relatively light in the week ahead, with inflation prints across multiple economies taking center stage.
The week starts with inflation readings from Thailand and Australia, followed by additional inflation prints from Taiwan and the Philippines on Tuesday.
Wednesday will bring the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's policy decision, alongside Philippines unemployment data and Indonesia consumer confidence.
Thursday will be the busiest day of the week, with China's consumer price index and producer price inflation reports, Malaysia's central bank decision, and Taiwan's trade figures dominating headlines.
Friday rounds out the week with Japan producer price inflation data, along with Malaysia's retail sales and unemployment figures.
Here's what to watch in the week ahead.
MONDAY, June 6
The week kicked off with Thailand's monthly inflation print, which showed the consumer price index rose at a slower pace in June when compared to May.
Thailand's CPI clocked in at 2.42% year on year in June and compared with a 2.79% increase in May and the Trading Economics consensus estimate of a 4% increase.
The Melbourne Institute monthly inflation gauge similarly declined again in June following consecutive increases in March and April, driven mainly by lower transport costs.
Annual headline inflation, as measured by the inflation gauge, stood at 3.9%.
Elsewhere, Singapore reported a 3% year over year rise in total retail sales in May to SG$4.5 billion, softer than the 5.4% increase the prior month.
The latest pace of expansion missed the Trading Economics forecast of 6%.
On the activity front, Hong Kong's private sector activity expanded in June, showing a second consecutive monthly improvement in business conditions.
The latest seasonally adjusted S&P Global Hong Kong SAR Purchasing Managers' Index stood at 52.0, compared with 50.4 from the previous month.
TUESDAY, July 7
Tuesday will be relatively light on macro releases with inflation prints from Taiwan and the Philippines among the releases of note.
Markets will be closely following Taiwan's monthly inflation print after the last reading clocked in at 2.2%, the highest since March 2025 and the first time in a year that consumer prices increased over 2%.
According to Trading Economics, inflation could once again come in at 2.2% year on year for June. The higher reading could play into the Taiwan central bank's slight hawkish bias, with ANZ penciling a rate hike in September, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In contrast, the Philippines' headline inflation is expected to cool slightly to 6.7% in June from the 6.8% increase witnessed in May, the WSJ reported, citing ANZ.
The Philippines will also report industrial production data the same day.
WEDNESDAY, July 8
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will capture headlines as it meets for its interest rate decision, with markets expecting a 25 basis rate hike in the official cash rate to 2.50%, according to a Trading Economics consensus estimate.
The official rate is still 75 basis points below the central bank's estimate of neutral, the New Zealand dollar is much softer than assumed, and inflation is poised to be above target for a while, which makes it "sensible to get a hike under the belt" despite a decline in oil prices, ANZ said in a report last week.
The Philippines' unemployment data for May will also be among the highlights of the day, with Trading Economics expecting the joblessness rate to remain unchanged from the previous month's 4.7%.
Elsewhere, Indonesia will release a report capturing consumer confidence for June.
THURSDAY, July 9
Markets will turn their attention Thursday towards China's closely watched inflation print for June.
Analysts expect June inflation to cool to 1.1% year over year from the 1.2% recorded in the previous month, according to a consensus estimate from Trading Economics.
The print will help market observers gauge the impact of the Iran crisis on the economy which is otherwise facing weak domestic demand, the WSJ reported.
China will also release producer price inflation data for June on Thursday.
Malaysia's central bank will meet the same day for its policy rate decision, with markets expecting no change to the current interest rate of 2.75%, according to a Trading Economics consensus.
Kuala Lumpur will additionally report industrial production stats on Thursday.
In Taiwan, trade figures for June will be due. According to Bank of America analysts, the global AI boom should continue to support the island's tech exports, the WSJ reported.
However, Trading Economics expects Taiwan's trade surplus to decline to $15.1 billion from the $17.91 billion recorded in May.
Japan's machine tool orders for June will also be among the highlights of the day.
Elsewhere, Indonesia will report monthly retail sales stats while Thailand will release a consumer confidence report for June.
On the activity front, the Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index in New Zealand will be due.
CommBank said it expects the June PMI to either stabilize or lift from the 49.9 reading recorded in May amid lower fuel prices.
FRIDAY, July 10
The week rounds off with Japan's producer price inflation data for June.
Markets expect producer prices to rise by 6.8% year over year, accelerating from the 6.3% increase recorded in May, according to a consensus estimate from Trading Economics.
Also due will be Malaysia's retail stats for May, as well as monthly unemployment data.
Comments