Eurozone Inflation Steady At 2.2%, German Retail Sales Growth Beats Forecast, U.S. Employment Rises

Asian economic leader and the biggest ones, China Service Sector Expands At Slower Pace, China's service sector activity continued to expand in December, but at a slightly weaker pace than a month before, a survey by Markit Economics showed Friday. The headline HSBC business activity index, which measures service sector performance, declined to 51.7 in December from 52.1 in November. The reading still indicated growth in services activity, albeit at a slower pace

New economic data from Berlin, German Retail Sales Growth Beats Forecast, Retail sales in Germany topped expectations in November as higher income expectations and unemployment that is close to a two-decade low, boosted consumer spending. Sales increased 1.2 percent month-on-month on a seasonally-and-calendar adjusted basis in November, recovering from a 1.3 percent decline in the previous month. The outcome was better than the expected 0.8 percent growth

Latest inflation data of European Union, Eurozone Inflation Steady At 2.2%, Eurozone inflation remained unchanged in December, defying economists' forecast for a modest slowdown, as a smaller increase in energy costs was offset by higher food prices. European Union harmonized inflation came in at 2.2 percent in December, unchanged from the November rate, preliminary data from the statistical office Eurostat showed Friday

Meanwhile, U.S. Employment Rises In Line With Estimates In December, Employment in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of December, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday