Japan's merchandise trade deficit widened by as much as 10% in May to 993.9 billion yen, marking the 11th consecutive month of deficit as energy import costs continue to be high following shutdown of nuclear plants.
Britain's consumer prices accelerated more than initially predicted in May, boosted by a record jump in air fares, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday.
Housing starts in the world's largest economy rose less than expected last month, reflecting labour and material constraints, however the overall trend remains consistent and the housing market is expected to gain momentum.
Investors' mood in Europe's largest economy rose significantly this month, as the economy is gathering pace.
New Zealand consumer confidence rose to the highest level in three years in June, driven by improving economic prospects, increasing housing values, low interest rates and falling prices.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis Japan's tertiary industry activity index unexpectedly remained flat in April compared to a revised 0.2% drop a month earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey shows that conditions for New York manufacturers improved moderately in June, reaching a three-month high.
The Euro bloc's trade surplus unexpectedly narrowed in April amid decline in exports for the first time in four months, according to the latest data from the European statistics bureau Eurostat.
House sellers' average asking prices have exceeded 250,000 pounds for the first time.
Canada factory sales decelerated at the fastest pace in more than three years in April, due to lower sales in the petroleum and coal product, the Statistics Canada said Friday.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved a set of measures on Friday to stimulate economic growth in the world's third largest economy that so far have failed to impress markets and added more pressure on policy makers to introduce more steps after July's upper house elections.
A revival in house building helped to offset a drop in construction output, suggesting measures introduced by the government are boosting investors' confidence and willingness to borrow money to build a new homes.
Mood across American consumers eased from a six-year high in June, as progress in the closely-watched labour market supported consumers' views of the economic outlook.
Prices of electricity, fruit and vegetables helped to boost consumer prices in the Eurozone off its three-year low last month, suggesting some stabilization in the struggling to grow region.
"We've come down a tick this month, but broadly we suspect the trend is toward a higher unemployment rate" - Michael Turner, a debt strategist at Royal Bank of Canada Australia recorded a surprise improvement of the labour market in May, boosting payrolls and pushing overall jobless rate lower, even as the job market withstood a weaker domestic outlook. The number
"Evidently, the situation for industry has stabilised, although it is too soon to talk about a sustainable recovery" - Swiss SVME purchasing managers' association and Credit Suisse Producer and imports prices in Switzerland fell unexpectedly in May from a month earlier, reflecting that manufacturers are more worried about future economic performance of the country, even despite all other economic indicators
"More needs to be achieved to help banks lend to new buyers, as a strong improvement in first-time buyer lending is the crucial catalyst for a full market recovery "- David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services Property prices in England and Wales hit record high in May as government's initiative to ease credit pressure made mortgages available to
"The downside risk from sequestration is proving much smaller than some had feared"- Mike Englund, chief economist at Action Economics LLC The closely-watched labour market is showing signs of stabilization as the number of Americans who applied last week for the jobless benefits fell, suggesting companies are refraining firing stuff even despite deceleration in the economy and recent budget cuts
"The slower growth is not really an issue of a big change in the fundamentals" - Andrew Burns, the lead author of the reportIn its latest assessment of the global economy and the Eurozone economy in particular, the World Bank said they expected slower, but less volatile growth in the coming months and years. The main reasons for that are
"It appears that some of the factors behind the sharp drop in sentiment in May were temporary " - Matthew Hassan, senior economist at Westpac A measure of Australian consumer mood bounced in June, recovering from two months of sharp fall, an encouraging sign as the resource-rich economy is struggling boost growth amid anticipated slowdown in mining sector, which will
"Apparently the BOJ considers a stock plunge is temporary, but the central bank would be forced to act if stock prices keep heading south" - Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute After convincing investors in his readiness to double the nation's monetary base and end deflation the Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is now facing a
"The jobs market appears to be moderately improving. We may see a pickup in output without a further increase in employment"- Peter Dixon, an economist at Commerzbank AG The number of people in the U.K. claiming unemployment benefits fell more than initially estimated in May, while the number of people in the labour force reached the highest level since records
"The fiscal picture has a very long way to go before it is on a sustainable path "- Thomas Simons, a government-debt economist in New York at Jefferies LLC The U.S. government stated that the country's budget deficit widened more than expected last month. The federal budget swung to deficit of $138.7 billion in May compared to surplus of $112.9
"While April industrial production data are relatively encouraging, the euro zone manufacturing sector is not yet out of the woods " - Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight Industrial output in the 17-nation economy increased more than expected in April, led by France, adding to signs the region's economy is beginning to emerge from a record-long recession,