Bank of Japan out a data report 5 April
- first positive reading since Q1 2015
BOJ did not release data on potential growth due to recent revisions of GDP data.
The "output gap" -- which serves as an indicator for the level of economic activity, and, consequently, for the pressure for price change -- and the "potential growth rate" -- which reflects the growth capacity of Japan's economy from a longer-term perspective -- are useful concepts for judging economic and price conditions. It should be noted, however, that as these cannot be observed as objective data, they have to be estimated by some means.
The Bank of Japan's Research and Statistics Department prepares these data on a regular basis for assessing the state of Japan's economic activity and prices, and it also releases the estimation results on the Bank's website on a quarterly basis. These estimates are, in principle, released on the third business day in January, April, July, and October.
More info here
Meanwhile another slow start to the session. Seems even the algos are bored.
