IPI

       THE industrial production index (IPI), manufacturing sales and wholesale and retail trade for February are among the data due this week.

       The IPI is expected to be 3.5% by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts’ expectations. It increased 4.3% in January compared with the same month of the previous year.

       Manufacturing sales in January stood at RM139bil, growing 13.1% compared with the previous year.

       Singapore’s quarterly GDP

       THE Monetary Authority of Singapore is expected to release the monetary policy statement on Thursday together with the advance first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) estimate.

       UOB Global Economics and Markets Research expect the GDP growth to come in lower at 3.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) from 6.7% y-o-y in the fourth quarter of 2021, in line with the Bloomberg estimates of 3.5% y-o-y, 0.7% quarter-on-quarter, seasonally-adjusted figure.

       China trade, inflation

       TRADE data for March should reflect the beginning of the impact on export activities from the current Covid-19 lockdown, according to ING.

       ING expects slower growth for both exports and imports on a yearly basis.

       Bloomberg estimates exports to record slower growth of 12.8% y-o-y from 20.9% y-o-y in January and February while imports at 8% y-o-y from 19.5% in January and February.

       Meanwhile, inflation is likely to elevate as Covid-19 has pushed up food prices in some cities.

       Bloomberg estimates inflation to grow 1.4% y-o-y from 0.9% in February.