Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Governor Anna Breman said on Thursday that the path to 2% inflation has been bumpy, but we expect inflation to already be back in our target range in the first quarter of this year.

Japan Jibun Bank Services PMI climbed from previous 53.7 to 53.8 in February

Japan Jibun Bank Manufacturing PMI: 52.8 (February) vs 51.5

US President Donald Trump said that Iran must make a deal, or “bad things will happen," with the threat of military strikes still hanging heavy over delicate nuclear negotiations, BBC reported on Thursday.

Japan National CPI ex Food, Energy (YoY) fell from previous 2.9% to 2.6% in January

Japan’s National Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1.5% YoY in January, compared to the previous reading of 2.1%, according to the latest data released by the Japan Statistics Bureau on Friday.

Japan National Consumer Price Index (YoY) fell from previous 2.1% to 1.5% in January

Japan National CPI ex Fresh Food (YoY) meets forecasts (2%) in January

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said on Thursday that the monetary policy is in a good place.

The preliminary reading of Australia's S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) came in at 51.5 in February versus 52.3 prior, the latest data published by S&P Global showed on Friday.

New Zealand Trade Balance NZD (MoM) above forecasts ($-745M) in January: Actual ($-519M)

New Zealand Trade Balance NZD (YoY) down to $-2.3B in January from previous $-2.2B

Australia S&P Global Manufacturing PMI fell from previous 52.3 to 51.5 in February

Australia S&P Global Composite PMI down to 52 in February from previous 55.7

Australia S&P Global Services PMI declined to 52.2 in February from previous 56.3

New Zealand Imports fell from previous $7.6B to $6.73B in January

New Zealand Exports declined to $6.21B in January from previous $7.65B

UOB economists Enrico Tanuwidjaja and Sathit Talaengsatya note that the Thai Baht’s rally paused in January as a sharp Gold correction disrupted retail Gold markets and generated two-way FX flows. The Bank of Thailand continues to smooth volatility and scrutinize Gold-linked FX.

Argentina Trade Balance (MoM) came in at $1987M, above forecasts ($900M) in January

UOB economists Enrico Tanuwidjaja and Sathit Talaengsatya expect the Bank of Thailand to cut the 1-day repurchase rate by 25 bps to 1.00% at the 25 February MPC meeting and see this as the terminal rate.

ING’s Deepali Bhargava notes that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) delivered a widely expected 25bp rate cut to 4.25%, but paired it with more cautious and uncertain guidance as growth remains softer than expected.

BNY’s EMEA Macro Strategist Geoff Yu argues that the Hungarian Forint’s strong performance has become detached from fundamentals after a sharp downside inflation surprise.

United States 4-Week Bill Auction: 3.625% vs previous 3.63%

Commerzbank’s Tatha Ghose argues that recent fragmentation in Poland’s ruling coalition reinforces domestic political risk as a key drag on the Zloty. Despite assurances from Prime Minister Tusk about government stability and a “stable zloty,” the currency has underperformed peers.

Neel Kashkari, Federal Reserve (Fed) President of the Bank of Minneapolis, said that the labor market has remained pretty resilient and that he believes AI could boost productivity in the next five to ten years, according to Reuters on Thursday.

United States EIA Natural Gas Storage Change came in at -144B, above forecasts (-146B) in February 13

Eurozone Consumer Confidence registered at -12.2, below expectations (-11.8) in February

Rabobank’s Michael Every argues that America’s Maritime Action Plan (MAP) marks a decisive move away from rules-based free trade toward bloc-based neomercantilism.

United States Pending Home Sales (YoY): -0.4% (January) vs -3%

United States Pending Home Sales (MoM) came in at -0.8% below forecasts (1.3%) in January