SINGAPORE — Shares in Japan appeared set for a lower start on Monday as investors look ahead to this week’s major Chinese economic data releases as well as a closely watched interest rate decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 27,265 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 27,340 —lower than the Nikkei 225’s last close at 27,824.29.

Markets in Australia are closed on Monday for a holiday.

Later this week, a slew of Chinese economic data including industrial production and retail sales for May will be out on Wednesday.

The U.S. Fed is also expected to announce its interest rate decision later this week. That comes after Friday’s hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data release.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 104.338 after recently crossing the 104 level.

The Japanese yen traded at 134.77 per dollar, having weakened from levels below 132 against the greenback last week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7025 after dropping from above $0.72 last week.