Japan's factories ramped up output at the fastest pace in more than nine years in June as disruptions due to China's COVID-19 curbs eased, a welcome sign for policymakers hoping the economic outlook will improve.

China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) in the first six months of 2022 rose 0.8% from a year earlier to 351.67 billion yuan ($52.13 billion), the Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Several Asian central banks must raise interest rates rapidly, because inflationary pressures are rising due to a global surge in food and fuel costs caused by the war in Ukraine, said a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official.

Asian stocks took their cue on Friday from a late rally on Wall Street, as markets focused on a possible slowdown in the pace of rate hikes rather than a U.S. recession after data showed its economy shrinking for a second straight quarter.

China will strengthen efforts to stabilise foreign trade in the second half of the year, the commerce ministry said on Friday.

The U.S. economy unexpectedly contracted in the second quarter, with consumer spending growing at its slowest pace in two years and business spending declining, raising the risk that the economy was on the cusp of a recession.