South Korea GDP On Tap For Wednesday

(RTTNews) - South Korea will on Wednesday release preliminary Q4 figures for gross domestic product, highlighting a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

GDP is expected to add 0.3 percent on quarter and 2.2 percent on year, slowing from the 0.6 percent quarterly increase and the 2.6 percent yearly gain in the three months prior.

Japan will provide December data for imports, exports and trade balance. Imports are expected to slip 0.8 percent on year after sliding 8.8 percent in November. Exports are called higher by 1.2 percent after easing 0.4 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at 270.0 billion yen, up from 152.5 billion yen a month earlier.

Australia will see Q4 numbers for consumer prices, and also December results for the Westpac leading economic index.

Consumer prices are expected to add 0.7 percent on quarter and 1.6 percent on year after gaining 0.7 percent on quarter and 1.3 percent on year in the third quarter. The leading index was up 0.02 percent in November.

New Zealand will provide December data for credit card spending; in November, spending was down 4.2 percent on month and up 4.1 percent on year.

Taiwan will release preliminary Q4 figures for gross domestic product, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 2.85 percent on year - up from 2.03 percent in the previous three months.

Finally, the markets in Taiwan begin their long holiday break for the Lunar New Year on Wednesday.