Economists expect the February current account balance to climb to a ¥1071.9 billion surplus, following a ¥172.8 billion deficit in January.

Seiji Shiraishi, an economist with HSBC, said that if the results are in line, the balance will still be down by more than 50% from one year ago. Shiraishi said the return to a surplus is a result of the shrinking cost to import, as commodity prices decline and domestic demand weakens.

Later in the session Australian markets will receive consumer confidence for April from Westpac Banking Corporation. The index has seen month-over-month declines the last three months in a row, most recently dropping by 0.2% in March.

Finally, Australian home loans for February will be released. Loans are expected to climb 2.0% after a 3.5% increase in January.

All times in EDT:

19:50 JP Current Account Total February Exp: +¥1071.9B Prior:-¥172.8B

19:50 JP Adjusted Current Account Total February Exp: +¥517.5B Prior: +¥258.0B

19:50 JP Trade Balance - BOP Basis February Exp: +¥142.0B Prior:-¥844.4B

20:30 AU Westpac Consumer Confidence April Prior:-0.2%

21:30 AU Home Loans February Exp: +2.0% Prior: +3.5%

21:30 AU Investment Lending February Prior:-3.8%

21:30 AU Value of Loans (M/M) February Prior: +2.3%

By Megan Ainscow, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , edited by Stephen Huebl, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

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