Japan Preview, Week of July 25, 2011

Posted July 22, 2011 by Editor

[private]This is the major week of the month in terms of June data releases, further tracing out the path of recovery from the March disasters and beginning to give hints as to the strength of the underlying growth trend.  Key reports begin Thursday with retail sales data, providing, along with the household income and expenditure survey numbers arriving Friday, a track on the consumer sector rebound–which so far has been quite solid.  Friday also brings production-side updates, encompassing a general activity picture to be provided by the labor market survey, a detailed manufacturing-sector report in the industrial production release, and a housing-sector report in the housing starts report.  None of them looks to show significant deterioration–the issue will be the extent of improvement, and the message it gives about trends.  The other important Friday release will cover consumer prices, addressing the perennial issue of whether sustained recovery from deflation is underway.Japan Preview, Week of July 25, 2011[/private]