(RTTNews) - The value of home loan commitments in Australia increased 0.7 percent in July from June, according to data published Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The Bureau said the number of loan commitments for new, owner-occupied dwellings increased a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent.

Commitments for purchases of new dwellings increased in number by 1.5 percent.

(RTTNews) - Core machinery orders in Japan surged a seasonally adjusted 8.8 percent in July compared to the previous month, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday. That was sharply higher than analyst expectations for a 2.0 percent monthly increase following the 1.6 percent gain in June.

On an annual basis, core machinery orders surged 15.9 percent - again topping forecasts for an 8.1 percent gain after shedding 2.2 percent in the previous month.

Government orders eased 1.3 percent on month, while overseas orders added 2.6 percent and agency orders fell 1.8 percent. Private sector orders collected 6.4 percent on month.

(RTTNews) - Foreign residents were net sellers of Japan-based stocks last week, and net buyers of bonds and notes.

Japan's Ministry of Finance reported Wednesday that foreigners sold a net 173.5 billion yen more in Japan stocks than they sold for the week ending August 31, their second straight week as net sellers of stocks.

(RTTNews) - Bank lending in Japan declined 2.0 percent on year in August, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday, coming in at 394.2 trillion yen. That follows a 1.9 percent annual contraction in July.

Including trusts, bank lending was down 1.9 percent on year to 456.7 trillion yen. That followed a 1.8 percent decline on year in the previous month.

(RTTNews) - Bank of Japan Governor Maasaki Shirakawa on Tuesday said the bank was assessing more policy options and assured that it was ready to act in an appropriate way if necessary.

The central bank chief expressed concern over the strong yen, adding that the BOJ was keeping a close eye on exchange rates. "We are aware that Japanese exporters have been greatly affected by the yen's strength," reports quoted him as saying.

(RTTNews) - Wholesale trade sales in New Zealand increased 2.2% between April and June compared to the previous three months following a similar 2.2% rise in the March quarter, Statistics New Zealand said on Tuesday.

Sales rose in nine of the 16 wholesale industries, with the increase mainly driven by primary product food, machinery & equipment, and unprocessed primary products. On the other hand, the largest fall was in food & grocery products.

(RTTNews) - A gauge of Australia's inflation showed that consumer prices had risen to the top end of the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2-3% target range in August.

Reports said the TD Securities - Melbourne Institute annual inflation gauge rose to 3% from 2.8% in July. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.2%, after the 0.1% rise in the prior month.

The rise was driven by higher prices for food, alcohol & tobacco, and furniture & furnishings. These were partly offset by lower prices for meat & seafood and holiday travel.

(RTTNews) -  New Zealand firms should base their pricing decisions on low underlying inflation, not the upcoming temporary spike, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Alan Bollard said in a speech on Thursday.

He warned that if businesses, labour groups and households use the upcoming hike in the Goods and Services Tax as a veil to increase margins and wages, they will simply spread inflation and harm the recovery.

Although the increase in the rate of GST will push headline inflation substantially higher, he expects spike in inflation to be short-lived. Further, he said the inflationary effects should be largely out of the system by later next year.

(RTTNews) -  The Reserve Bank of Australia sold a net A$570 million in the foreign exchange market in July, figures released by the central bank showed on Thursday. The bank had sold a net A$1.2 billion in June.

The RBA bought a net A$608 million in the forex market from the Australian government in July. A net A$1.4 billion was bought from the government in the previous month.

(RTTNews) -  The unexpected stagnation of the Japanese economy in the June quarter raises the pressure on the government to introduce a second round stimulus measures, economists said on Monday. Analysts also believe the Bank of Japan will desist from intervening in the foreign exchange market to counter the strong yen for now.

Japan's government said yesterday that the country's gross domestic product added just 0.1% in the second quarter. The headline figure was well below analyst expectations for a 0.6% increase following the revised 1.1% increase in the first quarter. On an annualized basis, Japan's GDP was up 0.4% - again missing forecasts for a 2.3% increase following the revised 4.4% growth in the previous three months.

The surprisingly weak data means China has now overtaken Japan to become the world's second largest economy after Japan's Cabinet Office said that the country's gross domestic product was $1.29 trillion in the June quarter, which was lesser than China's GDP of $1.34 trillion in the same period.

(RTTNews) -  The Reserve Bank of Australia's policy board members felt in August's rate setting meeting that an interest rate pause was warranted given falling core inflation and high uncertainty in the global economy, meeting notes showed on Tuesday.

"The inflation data released during the month were in line with the board's expectations for a decline, and the outlook for economic growth had not changed," the minutes said. "Markets had settled somewhat, but there was still more uncertainty over the global outlook than there had been earlier in the year.

(RTTNews) - Japan's gross domestic product expanded by just 0.1 percent in the second quarter of 2010 compared to the previous quarter, the Cabinet Office said - well below analyst expectations for a 0.6 percent increase following the revised 1.1 percent gain in the first quarter.

On an annualized basis, GDP was up 0.4 percent - again, well below forecasts for a 2.3 percent increase following the revised 4.4 percent gain in the previous three months.

Nominal GDP was down 0.9 percent on quarter and 3.7 percent on year

(RTTNews) -  The Singapore dollar slumped to a 2-week low of 1.3671 against the US dollar in early Thursday Asian deals, compared to 1.3657 hit late New York Wednesday. The pair is presently worth 1.3661 with 1.38 seen as the next likely target level.

(RTTNews) -  The Bank of Korea monetary policy board members on Thursday voted to hold interest rates at 2.25 percent, in line with expectations.

Most analysts were expecting no movement on rates, especially since the central bank had unexpectedly raised rates by 25 basis points from the record low of 2.00 percent in their last meeting on July 9.

The rate had held steady for 16 straight months, after the bank had trimmed rates six times in the previous four months.

(RTTNews) -  The unemployment rate in Australia increased by 0.2 percent in July to 5.3 percent.

The figure was higher than the unchanged rate of 5.1 forecast by most economists.

The unemployment rate for males increased 0.2 percent to 5.3 percent while the jobless rate for females increased 0.2 percent to 5.2 percent

The Australian Bureau of Statistics also reported Thursday that the economy added 23,500 jobs in July.

(RTTNews) -  Consumers in Australia expect inflation to decrease modestly, according to survey results released Thursday by the Melbourne Institute.

The Institute's consumer inflation expectations index fell to a rate of 2.8 percent in August from the July reading of 3.3 percent.

It marked the fourth consecutive monthly decline in inflation expectations.

(RTTNews) -  Consumer confidence in Australia rose sharply in August, as reported Wednesday by Westpac Bank and the Melbourne Institute.

The group's consumer confidence index for August increased 5.4 percent from July to reading of 119.2 points.

Readings above 100 points indicate there were more optimists than pessimists among those surveyed on their feelings about the economy.

The August increase was the second strong gain for the index in a row, as the July reading was an 11.1 percent rise.

(RTTNews) -  Wednesday morning in Asia, the Singapore dollar extended its 2-day losing streak against its US counterpart and slipped to a 9-day low of 1.3579 around 9:30 pm ET.

On the downside, the domestic currency may find target around the 1.3680 level. The pair that finished Tuesday's North American deals at 1.3546 is presently quoted at 1.3568.

(RTTNews) -  In early Asian deals on Tuesday, the Chinese yuan fell against the U.S. dollar. At present, the yuan is trading at a 4-day low of 6.7739 per dollar. The next downside target level for the Chinese currency is seen at 6.777.

The People's Bank of China has set today's central parity rate for the dollar-yuan pair at 6.7745.

(RTTNews) -  Australian business confidence slipped to its lowest level in more than a year in July led by a sharp fall in new orders, reports said on Tuesday citing data from the National Australia Bank.

The confidence index slid to 2 from 4 in June. The forward orders index slumped 14 points to -8, the lowest level in more than a year.

Confidence declined in the manufacturing, retail and construction sectors. The NAB said this offset the boost to mining from the compromise agreement struck on the resource super tax.