Economic calendar in Asia: Japan GDP, Australia business confidence, RBNZ CPI expectations | Forexlive

Plenty on the calendar today.

With the next Reserve Bank of New Zealand policy meeting due on February 22, from which we’ll get its Monetary Policy Statement and OCR announcement, the inflation expectations data from NZ is of note. Westpac provide a summary preview of this:

• The risk of an enduring wage-price spiral is a key concern for the RBNZ.
• Central to this is the level of inflation expectations, which have risen sharply over the past year. That includes a rise at the longer- term horizons that are of more concern for monetary policy.
• The February survey is likely to show that expectations for inflation remain elevated at both short and longer-term horizons. However, with inflation remaining steady over the past six months (albeit at very high levels) and mounting headwinds for domestic activity, we do not expect a further rise in expectations in the latest survey.
• Note that the latest survey came in the wake of the recent flooding in Auckland, which could tilt the results to the upside.