South Korea's import prices dropped in March at their fastest pace in 27 months, dragged down by weaker oil prices, central bank data showed on Thursday.

Britain's labour market showed signs of a slowing in the sharp pace of pay growth in March and a shortage of candidates eased for the first time in two years, according to a survey of recruiters published on Wednesday.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Wednesday the central bank must pay more attention to the risk of failing to meet its 2% inflation target with premature monetary tightening, rather than being behind the curve in combating too-high price growth.

Economists at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) no longer expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in June, according to a research note published on Wednesday following data that showed consumer prices cooled faster than expected in March.

U.S. headline inflation slowed by more than expected in March, but the gauge of core prices closely watched by the Federal Reserve accelerated slightly following a rise in shelter costs.

Inflation data showing U.S. consumer prices rising less than expected in March may have come as a relief to markets, but some investors believe it may take a strong corporate earnings season to push stocks higher decisively.