Asian Stock Market News - BOJ Meeting

Weak Japan inflation, output data to cast cloud over BOJ meeting

A woman buys eggs at a wholesale shop in Kawasaki, nearby Tokyo

Japan's core inflation probably slipped for a second month in September, while factory output fell for a third month in a row, a Reuters poll showed, adding to headaches facing Bank of Japan policymakers as they head into a key policy meeting on Friday.

Private spending data also due next week is expected to show modest improvement, helped by holiday spending, but the rate of recovery likely remained moderate due to slow growth in wages.

The economic data next week will be among the last clues for investors and the BOJ on how the economy performed in July-September after it contracted in the second quarter.

Some economists believe activity shrank further over the summer, sending the economy back into recession and adding pressure on policymakers to offer fresh stimulus.

The core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes volatile fresh food prices, is expected to have slipped 0.2 percent in September from year earlier, a poll of 22 analysts showed.

Industrial production likely declined 0.5 percent in September from the previous month, which would be a third straight monthly fall following a revised 1.2 percent drop in August and a 0.8 percent fall in July.

The jobs-to-applicants ratio likely improved to 1.24 in September, which would be the highest since January 1992 when the ratio was at 1.25, according to the poll. In August, the ratio was at 1.23.