HONG KONG, May 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The latest data for April on fixed asset investment, industrial production, retail sales and inflation will be released on Wednesday 11th by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The inflation figure is likely to attract the most attention, as the People's Bank of China recently took a more hawkish stance by stating that managing inflation was its top priority. Also expected in the coming week are the latest figures on property prices. The NBS property price index has suggested growth is trending down from the peak seen in April 2010 (where annual growth in prices hit 12.8%) to 5.2% in March.
US commercial real estate shows further signs of recovery
Last week's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices compiled by the Federal Reserve points to an increasingly pronounced divergence between the landing climate in the commercial and residential property markets. While the net balance of respondents reporting stronger demand for commercial real estate loans climbed in the three months to April to its best level since the mid-1990s, the reading on residential demand remained well into negative territory.
Estimated drop in UK construction output in Q1 to be scaled back
Detailed construction output data for the first quarter of the year is due for release on Friday 13th. Provisional numbers for the period contained in the Q1 GDP publication suggests that output fell by a further 5% following the 2% drop in the final three months of last year. The cumulative contraction in construction output over this period of around 7% follows a recorded increase of some 11% in the preceding two quarters.
Korean interest rates to rise further against strong credit growth
The Bank of Korea (BOK) is due to decide on interest rates on Friday 13th. Currently, rates stand at 3% and have been raised four times already since their low of 2% back in June 2010. The BOK has been keen to normalize monetary policy on the back of rapid growth in the money supply and more recently, above target inflation.
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