Asian stocks rose as commodity prices jumped amid optimism the U.S. recession may ease after the economy shrank less than expected in the first quarter.

Japan’s consumer prices fell at a record pace in May, adding to signs that a return to deflation may hamper a rebound from the nation’s worst postwar recession.

 Prices excluding fresh food slid 1.1 percent from a year earlier after dropping 0.1 percent in the preceding two months, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo. It was the sharpest decrease since comparable figures were first compiled in 1971.

The dollar fell, heading for its biggest weekly loss against the euro in a month, on speculation a Federal Reserve official speaking today will signal the central bank intends to keep interest rates low.

Chinese industrial companies’ profits fell at a slower pace as a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package and record lending countered a slump in exports.

New Zealand’s economy shrank for a fifth straight quarter as consumers and businesses cut spending, extending the worst recession in more than three decades.

Foreign direct investment into developing nations will rise 14 percent to $440 billion next year as the global economy recovers from its worst recession in six decades, the World Bank said.

UBS AG, the European bank with the biggest credit?crisis losses, raised about 3.8 billion Swiss francs ($3.5 billion) by selling shares to boost capital and said it expects a second?quarter loss.

The Bank of England said financial institutions’ losses from the crisis have left them vulnerable to another wave of shocks, including the risk that the economy will stay mired in recession.

In India the annual rate of inflation measured by the WPI fell 1.14% year?on?year for the week ended June 13, up from the 1.61% dip it had registered the previous week.