US core durable goods orders rose more than expected in April, increasing 0.5%, surpassing economists' median forecast for a 0.3% gain, and compared with an upwardly revised March figure of 0.6%.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the Japanese economy is now overcoming deflation, offering a more upbeat outlook for the nation's economy.
New Zealand trade surplus shrank in April as whole milk powder exports to China fell. According to Statistics New Zealand, the trade surplus was $NZ123 million in the reported month, compared with $NZ100 million expected by economists and $NZ754 million surplus in March.
After announcing an acceleration of money printing to boost bond buying before liquidity dries up during Europe's summer vacation period in July and August, the European Central Bank slowed its weekly pace of purchases.
A sharp decline in energy prices put heavy pressure on Canada's inflation in April, as cost of living fell to lowest level since October 2013.
The British economy is expected to close its output gap within next year, Mark Carney, Bank of England Governor said, adding that recent slowdown in inflation is due to a fall in food and energy prices. Carney forecast productivity to pick up, but it would not return to historical averages any time soon.
US consumer prices slowed their growth in April amid weak gasoline prices, according to the Labor Department. Consumer price index climbed 0.1% last month after rising 0.2% in March.
Europe's largest economy, Germany, grew by a quarterly rate 0.3% in the three months through March, down from 0.7% growth in the fourth quarter.
USThe US economy's weakness in the beginning of the year persuaded most Fed policy makers that the economy would not show enough strength to justify hiking the benchmark interest rate in June. Yet, officials said that the slow start to the year was mostly triggered by temporary factors like harsh winter weather and disputes at West Coast ports. Central bankers
China's manufacturing activity declined for the third consecutive months in May as demand remained weak, fuelling expectations for more stimulus to support the growth in the world's second biggest economy. HSBC's preliminary manufacturing PMI came in at 49.1 for May.
The Bank of Japan refrained from adding more monetary stimulus and expressed more upbeat view on the world's third largest economy, as a rebound in consumption boosted services sector's sentiment to the highest level in a year.
UK retail sales unexpectedly jumped in Aprils as warm weather boosted clothing demand the most in four years.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits increased slightly more than expected, but the underlying trend continued to point the labour market was tightening.
Manufacturing activity in the currency bloc continued to rise in May, according to flash data from Markit. The flash manufacturing PMI for the Euro zone increased to 52.3 points in May, compared to 52.0 in April.
Australians appeared to feel much more upbeat on the economic outlook in May, after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut the benchmark interest rate for the second time this year and the government released a budget that included unexpected tax relief for small businesses.
After falling to the lowest level in six months in February, Canada's wholesale sales rebounded in March, a positive sign for the Canadian economy following the fallout caused by steep decline in crude-oil prices.
Minutes of the BoE Monetary Policy Committee's May policy meeting showed nine members voted unanimously to maintain the benchmark interest rate at all-time low of 0.5% this month and to keep the size of the central bank's bond portfolio at 375 billion pounds.
The US economy's weakness in the beginning of the year persuaded most Fed policy makers that the economy would not show enough strength to justify hiking the benchmark interest rate in June.
France, the Euro zone's second largest economy, is recovering but its growth potential is still much weaker than before the crisis, the International Monetary Policy said.
Stephen Poloz, Bank of Canada Governor, said the Canadian economy is headed in the right direction, and sustained recovery supported by non-energy exports should start by midyear, underlying that the rebound from the 2008-09 recession "has been a long voyage, and it isn't over yet."
The Japanese economy grew more than expected in the first quarter, supported by household and business spending, fuelling optimism the world's third biggest economy's recovery is back on track following last year's recession caused by the government's consumption-tax hike.
In line with expectations of the Bank of England, the UK consumer inflation turned negative for the first time since 1960 amid the decline in food and energy prices.
The US housing sector enjoyed a healthy performance in April, with housing starts surging to the highest level in more than seven years, while building permits also soared more than expected in the reported month.
German investors' morale declined considerably more than expected in May, falling for the second consecutive month.