On Thursday, retail sales and industrial production figures drew investor interest. Retail sales increased by 0.8% in January after sliding by 2.9% in December. Retail sales were up 2.3% year-over-year in January compared with 2.4% in December. Economists forecast retail sales to increase by 0.6% month-on-month and by 2.3% year-over-year. After the hotter-than-expected January inflation numbers, the pickup in retail sales may further fuel bets on an April Bank of Japan pivot from negative rates. The Bank of Japan needs wage growth and household consumption to fuel demand-driven inflation. A pickup in demand-driven ... (full story)