Japan's government has officially announced the country is in a deflation period expressing fears that it could harms the recovery process. The Bank of Japan has decided to keep interest rates at its lowest level.
The International Energy Agency says global oil demand is set to grow faster than expected but could yet be hit by rising prices. The Paris-based body came under fire this week amid claims it had deliberately underplayed a looming shortage of oil.
Consumer prices in France dropped in July for the third month running. Officials sought to dispel fears of a deflationary spiral, stressing that the drop reflected seasonal factors.
French consumer prices fell by 0.5 percent in June, according to official data released Thursday. This marks a deflationary step for the second month running, but shows a monthly rise of 0.1 percent for the past year.
French electricity provider EDF says it wants to raise tariffs by 20% to make up for debts in excess of 24.5 billion euros, but it may have a hard time persuading the government to approve the hike.
US President Barack Obama on Friday unveiled a 73-million-dollar aid package to help poverty-stricken Zimbabwe after a meeting with Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at the White House.
According to data released on Wednesday, China's consumer prices fell in May for the fourth straight month. The data comes as Beijing tries to increase domestic consumption as its export-dependent economy gets battered by the financial crisis.
French statistics institute INSEE has announced that consumer prices increased by 0.2% in April and rose by only 0.1% on a year-to-year basis. French inflation is now at its lowest level since 1957.
According to official figures, consumer prices in China continued to fall in April for the third consecutive month. The index is now down 1.5% from a year ago, confirming fears of deflation amid an ongoing downturn.
Eurozone inflation remained at a record low of 0.6 percent year-on-year in April, a first estimate showed on Thursday, as unemployment continued to climb quickly amid the worst European recession since World War Two.
