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An index measuring tertiary industry activity in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent on month in March, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Wednesday, standing at 98.6.

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The German economy narrowly escaped recession in the first quarter of 2013, but the growth was weaker than forecast, as the country's coldest winter in a century adversely affected economic activity. Meanwhile, France slipped into a recession amid flagging investment and exports. Germany's gross domestic product grew 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter, after adjustment for price.

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Turkey's unemployment rate dropped unexpected in February, after a strong rise in the previous month, data released by Turkstat showed Wednesday.

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U.S. homebuilder confidence rose has risen more than expected in May, as attractive interest rates and a relatively low supply of existing homes has encouraged people to build new dwellings.Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved three points to a 44 reading on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for May.

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Wholesale inflation remained in check in April. New government figures showed that producer prices fell during the month, spurred lower by a continued slide in energy prices. Meanwhile, core prices showed only a slight advance, keeping pressure off the Federal Reserve to change its low-interest rate stance.

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New Zealand's government said Thursday that it expects to attain a budget surplus in 2015 as the post-quake rebuild in Canterbury and recovery from the drought boost economic growth. Presenting the Budget 2013, Finance Minister Bill English said that the operating balance before gains and losses is expected to be in a surplus of NZ$75 million in 2014-15, higher than NZ$66 million projected.

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Japan's gross domestic product expanded 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the previous three months, the Cabinet Office said in Thursday's preliminary report. The headline figure beat forecasts for an increase of 0.7 percent following the flat reading in the previous three months. Q4's reading barely broke a string of three straight quarters in the red. On a yearly basis, GDP jumped 3.5 percent.

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Eurozone exports grew for the third consecutive month in March giving a ray of hope that the region can emerge out of the recession that has now extended to a record six quarters. Exports increased at a pace of 2.8 percent in March from the previous month, when it grew only 0.2 percent, data published by Eurostat showed Thursday.

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With energy prices showing a substantial decrease, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing that U.S. consumer prices fell by slightly more than expected in the month of April.The Labor Department said its consumer price index fell by 0.4 percent in April following a 0.2 percent drop in March. Economists had expected prices to decrease by about 0.3 percent.

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Manufacturing firms responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's monthly Business Outlook Survey unexpectedly indicated that regional manufacturing activity has contracted in the month of May.A report released by the Philly Fed on Thursday showed that its diffusion index of current activity fell to a negative 5.2 in May from a positive 1.3 in April.

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