2017.09.0618:01:00UTC+00Australia Trade Balance On Tap For Thursday

Australia will on Thursday release July trade and retail sales data, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

The trade surplus is expected to come in at A$950 million, up from A$856 million in June. Retail sales are tipped to add 0.2 percent on month after rising 0.3 percent in the previous month.

Australia also will see August results for the Performance of Construction Index from AiG; in July, the index score was 60.5.

Japan will see preliminary July numbers for its leading and coincident indexes. The leading index is expected to come in with a score of 105.1, down from 105.9 in June. The coincident is pegged at 115.8, down from 117.1 a month earlier.

The central bank in Malaysia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates. The bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 3.00 percent.