China's use of its own yuan currency for cross-border transactions has increased "notably" to 9.95 trillion yuan ($1.63 trillion) last year, the central bank said Friday, without giving a comparative figure.

China is seeking to make the yuan -- also known as the renminbi (RMB) -- used more internationally in line with its standing as the world's second-largest economy. Some analysts predict the unit will one day rival the U.S. dollar.

The chief economist of the International Energy Agency said Friday there would be no "significant" changes to Saudi oil policy following the death of King Abdullah.

"With the death of the king, with the changes (in government), I do not expect any significant change in the oil policy of Saudi Arabia and I expect and hope that they will continue to be a stabilization factor in the oil markets," Fatih Birol told Agence France Presse on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Chinese manufacturing activity picked up marginally in January but still contracted, a closely watched gauge indicated Friday, as growth in the world's number two economy slows down.

British banking giant HSBC said a preliminary reading of its purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed it had edged up to 49.8 this month from a final reading of 49.6 in December.

Oil prices surged Friday following the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, with investors watching to see if his successor will maintain output in the face of a global supply glut that had sent crude to six-year lows.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March delivery soared as much as 3.1 percent in New York after the Saudi royal court announced the death.

Ukraine has asked the IMF for a new and broader rescue package, and will seek to renegotiate its debt with bond holders, officials said on Wednesday as the war-torn country fights to save its reeling economy.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde met Ukrainian Petro Poroshenko on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos and said Ukraine requested that the Washington-based IMF deepen its relationship with Kiev.

Spain's unemployment rate fell in 2014 for the second straight year, dropping by just over two points to 23.7 percent, but still remains at one of the highest levels in the European Union, official data showed on Thursday.

The fall was greater than what had been expected by the government, which had forecast the country would end 2014 with a jobless rate of 24.2 percent as en economic recovery gains pace.

Oil prices edged lower in Asia Thursday as dealers await a much-anticipated European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting and the release of the latest U.S. supply report, analysts said. 

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in March fell 29 cents to $47.49 while Brent for March eased 10 cents to $48.93 in afternoon trade. 

Venezuela's embattled president pledged Wednesday night to strengthen safety net programs and he rejected devaluing the currency during a long-delayed speech addressing the socialist country's deteriorating economy.

President Nicolas Maduro had promised several times in the past month to make announcements regarding the South American country's worsening shortages of basic goods and its deepening recession, and many people had expected him to drastically change the price and currency controls that economists say contribute to crippling 60 percent inflation.

The Russian government is preparing to launch an "anti-crisis program" to tackle the country's stalled economy at the cost of 1.375 trillion rubles (18 billion euros, $21 billion), deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov said Wednesday.

Meeting President Vladimir Putin, Shuvalov said: "According to this plan, now we need to finance measures to the sum of 1.375 trillion rubles," according to the Interfax news agency. 

French energy giant Total is expected to abandon its search for oil and gas off Cyprus after failing to find any significant targets for exploratory drilling, Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis said Wednesday.

Total “has not found any geological structures or targets to continue its obligations” in the blocks it is licensed to exploit, Lakkotrypis said.