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.
Inflation expectations in New Zealand picked up, dampening bets on the RBNZ trimming interest rates as soon as next month.
The Reserve Bank of Australia kept door open for further interest rate cuts if needed despite worries over booming house prices in Sydney and Melbourne, the minutes of the last board meeting showed.
Charles Evans, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President, reiterated his view that the US central bank should keep interest rates on hold until early 2016 and hike them gradually thereafter.
The Euro zone's number one economy Germany is expected to grow, supported mainly by domestic consumption, according to Bundesbank.
Japan's machinery orders rose more than expected in March in a sign that Japanese companies may be increasing capital expenditure for future growth.
Canada's manufacturing sales rose more than expected in March, Statistics Canada said.
China's new home prices declined for the eighth straight month in April from a year earlier, but remained flat from March, fuelling hopes that a property downturn which is derailing the world's second biggest economy is starting to bottom out.
US industrial production dropped for a fifth straight month in April as mining and utilities output declined and manufacturing stagnated, according to the Federal Reserve.
Euro zoneThe Euro zone's economic output rose 0.4% in the first quarter, faster than both the US and UK for the first time since the first quarter of 2011. That marked an increase from the 0.3% growth recorded in the December quarter of last year, but was slightly weaker outcome than the 0.5% rate estimated by economists. On an annualized