Feb 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares were likely to open lower on Friday, tracking losses on Wall Street due to weak economic data, while miners should come into focus following a China import ban.
Miners were expected to come under pressure after Reuters reported that China's Dalian port has banned imports of coal from Australia. Coal is Australia's biggest export earner. local share price index futures YAPcm1 fell 0.1 pecrent, a 47.2-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark closed 0.7 percent higher on Thursday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 slipped 0.2 percent in early trade.