China's exports fell 8.8% in August year-on-year, while imports contracted 7.3%, customs data showed on Thursday, increasing pressure on the country's vast manufacturing sector as demand sags at home and abroad.

Economists have downgraded Singapore's 2023 growth forecasts and inflation expectations, according to a survey by the country's central bank published on Wednesday, with spillovers from an external growth slowdown cited as the top risk.

Retail sales in the euro zone declined in July, though only due to reduced automotive fuel purchases, while June registered an increase rather than the decline reported last month, data showed on Wednesday.

Britain's statistics office requested earlier access to key economic data on Wednesday, a few days after it sharply revised its estimate of the size of the economy at the end of 2021 which caught many analysts by surprise.

Bank of Japan policymaker Junko Nakagawa said on Thursday the central bank must maintain ultra-loose monetary policy for the time being due to uncertainty over prospects for achieving the bank's 2% inflation target in a sustainable fashion.

Policymakers in Tokyo believe China's deepening economic woes could hit Japan's fragile recovery, especially if Beijing fails to shore up demand with meaningful stimulus, potentially delaying an exit from ultra-loose monetary policy.