Japan logged its 29th consecutive trade deficit in November despite a slight decline of imports due to the recent fall in crude oil prices.
The vote of the MPC remained unchanged in December, with the majority of policy makers believing that weak inflation outlook warranted maintaining interest rates intact at all-time low of 0.5%.
Concluding the FOMC's two-day meeting, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said that the US central bank plans to hike interest rates next year, but it would take a patient approach in deciding on a timing of the first rate hike, which would not take place any earlier than late April.
Eurostat confirmed that Euro zone's consumer prices rose 0.3% in November from the same month last year on falling fuel and heating oil prices, which subtracted 0.22 percentage point from the final result.
The Reserve Bank of Australia still believes that the nation's currency is too strong and that interest rates should be kept unchanged, rather than to be reduced further.
Canada's manufacturing sales declined more than expected in October, dragged down by a fall in production of aerospace products, following a record increase in the preceding month.
Britain's inflation slid to the lowest level in 12 years in November as falling fuel prices pushed down transport costs, while food prices declined.
US housing starts and building permits dropped in November, but the underlying trend points to consistently improving housing market, albeit the recovery appears to be uneven.
Activity in the manufacturing and services sectors in the 18-nation bloc improved in December, despite the mixed data coming out from the region's largest economies, namely Germany and France.
Australia's conservative party said it projects the nation's deficit to expand and stressed that falling commodity prices and political opposition to proposed austerity measures impacted severely on what a few years ago was one of the world's leading economies.
China's factory activity declined to the lowest level in seven month in December, indicating a stagnant growth of the world's second biggest economy in the final quarter of the year.
The British manufacturing sector is ending 2014 on a more positive note, after having lost some steam earlier in the year.
Industrial production in the world's number one economy rose in November as factories increased output of cars, machinery, clothing and other goods, a sign of surging demand for American products amid falling oil prices.
Almost two weeks after releasing updated inflation and growth outlook, the German Bundesbank said the Brent crude prices had since plummeted 11% on average below the forecast estimates.
Industrial output in China, the world's second biggest economy, rose at slower than expected pace in November from the previous year, whereas retail sales beat forecasts, the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
With the Japanese economy struggling to recover after the April's sales tax hike but no obvious contenders proposing a more effective fiscal strategy, voters backed up Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday to proceed with reforms known as Abenomics.
UK construction output unexpectedly declined sharply, even as growth in the previous months was upgraded and provided a slight boost to the British economic output in the third quarter.
US wholesale prices were pushed down by declining gas and food costs in November, adding to signs that cheaper oil worldwide is curbing inflationary pressures.
Industrial production across the 18 member states that share the Euro increased for a second consecutive month in October, albeit at a slower pace than expected.
In the European Central Bank's second round of targeted long-term loans Euro zone financial institutions borrowed less than expected, complicating the central bank's balance sheet expansion goal.
Australia's unemployment rate inched higher in November, despite the creation of more than 42,000 jobs during the reported month, underlying how a sluggish growth is reflected in the labour market, which is expected to stay fragile well into next year, adding to belief that the RBA will have to renew stimulus measures.
The Swiss National Bank kept its monetary policy intact, while highlighted increased deflationary threat and the strength of the Swiss Franc.
UK house prices rose at their slowest pace in 18 months in November, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said, as measures designed to curb mortgages came into effect.
US consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of the US economy, rose in November as lower gasoline prices and gains in wages provided a boost to the holiday shopping season, urging the biggest gain in retail sales in eight months and giving the economy a lift.