Asia And South Pacific February 2005

India’s Q2 GDP (not seasonally adjusted) rose 4.5 percent compared to Q2 2003 and 1.4 percent compared to the previous quarter.

Australia’s jobless rate dropped 0.1 percent to 5.1 percent compared to November and 0.7 percent compared to December 2003.

Unemployment in Hong Kong fell 0.2 percent to 6.5 percent — a 35-month low — compared to the previous month and dropped 0.9 percent from the same month in 2003, according to preliminary data. "The overall atmosphere of the labor market continued to improve, as evidenced by the high level of vacancy and job placement figures recorded by the Labor Department," said a government spokesman in a press release. "New initiatives to speed up the urban renewal process and improve the maintenance and management of old buildings will create employment opportunities for the construction, property management and related industries in the next few years."

Japan’s jobless rate fell 0.2 percent to 4.5 percent compared to October and decreased 0.4 percent compared to November 2003.

With the Group of Seven meeting looming in early February, China announced in late January it was in no hurry to change its foreign currency policy, where the yuan is pegged to the U.S. dollar (the currency of most other countries is floating, meaning it changes based on fluctuations in the economy). Chinese officials said currency reform is inevitable, but the country is going to do things at its own pace.