Japan's core inflation likely at 0%; IP may have rebounded slightly

Japan will release key April economic data on 29 April, including core inflation, industrial production (IP), and job data. The core inflation is likely to have dropped to 0.0% y/y in April from 2.2% in March as the base effect due to the April 2014 sales tax hike has started to wane. A 2% inflation target remains a distant goal for the Bank of Japan, and analysts believe the bank needs to ease still further in H2-2015. IP likely rebounded by 1.0% m/m in April after declining for two straight months. 

"Q1 GDP showed better-than-expected investment readings, which may imply a gradual pickup in business activity. The unemployment rate is expected to have stabilised at 3.5% in April, with the job-to-applicant ratio rising to 1.16 from 1.15 prior", expects Standard Chartered.