A succession of important domestic and overseas economic indicators is scheduled for release on the 8th, and the BOJ's Sakura Report is also expected to be published. The current account and U.S. labor and inventory indicators will be particular areas of market focus.
In Japan, the Ministry of Finance will release the August balance of payments, including the current account, at 8:50 a.m. The market consensus is ¥3.1946 trillion, with an expansion expected from the previous ¥2.9889 trillion. Outward and inward portfolio investment data will also be released at the same time, and their impact on foreign exchange and stock markets will be closely watched.
In the real estate market, 三鬼商事 and others will release the September Tokyo office vacancy rate at 11:00 a.m. The previous reading was 1.87%. Office supply and demand is positioned as a leading economic indicator, and developments in central Tokyo are said to reflect companies' appetite for business expansion.
At 2:00 p.m., the Cabinet Office will release the September Economy Watchers Survey. The current conditions DI is reported to be expected at 46.7, while the previous reading for the outlook DI was 48.3. The survey is regarded as an indicator of changes in personal consumption and employment conditions.
The BOJ will release its Sakura Report (Regional Economic Report) on the day, presenting economic assessments for 9 regions nationwide. The degree to which wage increases are spreading and price trends will provide material for assessing the future course of monetary policy.
Overseas, Germany's August trade balance will be released at 3:00 p.m., with a surplus of approximately €21.1 billion expected. At 8:00 p.m., the minutes of the ECB's September meeting will be published, and attention will focus on the tone of the debate over the timing of interest-rate cuts. In the United States, initial jobless claims are expected to be approximately 197,000, while August wholesale inventories will be released at 11:00 p.m., with inventory investment trends and changes in inventories contributing to GDP under close scrutiny.
Other scheduled events include speeches by the presidents of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Bank of England, as well as a meeting of European finance ministers. The U.S. labor and inventory indicators and the BOJ's assessment in its Sakura Report are expected to be the market's focus.