Australia Jobless Data On Tap For Thursday

(RTTNews) - Australia will on Thursday release May figures for unemployment, highlighting a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

The jobless rate is expected to rise to 5.9 percent from 5.8 percent in April, while the economy is expected to add 10,000 jobs following the addition of 14,200 in the previous month.

Australia also will see April figures for credit card purchases and balances; in March, they were at A$23 billion and A$49.8 billion, respectively.

Japan will provide April numbers for machine orders, with analysts expecting a decline of 10.8 percent on month and a gain of 13.3 percent on year. That follows the 19.1 percent monthly spike and the 16.1 percent annual increase in March.

The Bank of Korea will conclude its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates; the central bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold at 2.50 percent.

The central bank of Indonesia will finish its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates; the bank is tipped to hold rates steady at 7.50 percent.

Finally, stock markets in the Philippines will be closed on Thursday in observance of Independence Day.