The European Union's financial emergency fund released an aid tranche of 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion) to Cyprus on Friday, part of a controversial bailout agreed earlier this year.

The release from the European Stability Mechanism was agreed by the 17 finance ministers of the Eurogroup earlier this month after Cyprus had enacted stringent measures in return for the loans.

France exited recession in the second quarter of the year with economic growth of 0.5 percent, updated figures confirmed Friday, but investment shrank, raising concerns the recovery remains fragile.

The rebound for Europe's second-largest economy in the April-June period followed a six-month economic slide -- though revised data released Friday said the gross domestic product (GDP) contraction in the first quarter was 0.1 percent, instead of the 0.2 percent initially announced.

Russia's economy is at a crossroads and the country risks falling into the "abyss" if it does not make serious reforms to boost long-term growth, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned on Friday.

In a major article for the economic daily Vedomosti, Medvedev sought to reclaim the mantle of a champion of economic reform that he sought when he held the presidency from 2008 to 2012.

Japanese inflation hit a five-year high last month, although Friday's data showed the rise was driven by soaring energy costs, indicating the government's plan to boost consumer demand was still to gain traction.

The consumer price index, which measures a basket of everyday goods but excludes the volatile cost of fresh food, was up 0.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the internal affairs ministry.

Oil prices eased in Asian trade Friday after the United States and Russia agreed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution on destroying Syria's chemical arms, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November, dipped 32 cents to $102.71 in afternoon trade, while Brent North Sea crude for November was down 13 cents at $109.08.

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Pressure is building on fractious Republicans in Congress over legislation to prevent a partial U.S. government shutdown, as the Democratic-led Senate is expected to strip a tea party-backed plan to defund President Barack Obama's health care reforms from the bill.

As the Senate telegraphed its moves, House Republicans deliberated an array of imperfect options on both a temporary spending bill required to avert a shutdown and a separate measure to permit the government to borrow almost $1 trillion to keep paying its bills.

U.S. banking giant Citigroup Wednesday announced an agreement to pay Freddie Mac $395 million to settle claims of potential flaws in millions of mortgages it sold Freddie.

Wednesday's settlement covers potential future claims on 3.7 million loans sold to the quasi-public Freddie between 2000 and 2012, a period that includes the housing boom. Freddie has contended that Citi and other banks sold it loans that did not meet key standards.

Spain will stick to its path of austerity in 2014 with the government due to approve its draft budget for the year on Friday, subjecting pensioners and public workers to more cutbacks despite a slowly improving economy.

A new pay freeze for civil servants and a pension reform which will stop indexing payouts to inflation are among the measures which Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government is expected to adopt.

Oil prices edged lower in Asian trade Thursday after an unexpected surge in U.S. crude stockpiles and fresh signs of warming relations between the West and crude producer Iran, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in November, was down 36 cents at $102.30 in mid-morning trade, while Brent North Sea crude for November eased 24 cents to $108.08.