Oil prices fall further

LONDON: World oil prices sank on Monday, extending heavy pre-weekend losses as weak global stock markets and the US-China trade row dented investor sentiment.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery slid 48 cents to 68.81 dollars per barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for October delivery dipped 19 cents to 67.50 dollars in early afternoon London trade.
"The fall is really related to some weakness in equities markets," said Victor Shum, senior principal at energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore.
Japanese share prices tumbled 2.32 percent on Monday as investors fretted about pre-weekend losses on Wall Street and a stronger yen, leading to a fall in Asian equities.
Europe's main stock markets also fell on Monday, at one stage losing more than one percent in Frankfurt, London and Paris.
"We continue to have this tug-of-war between weak supply fundamentals and optimistic hopes of economic recovery, so we are likely to stay in this 65 dollar to 75 dollar range," Shum added.
Oil had slumped Friday as traders banked profits from a four-day rally spurred by growing optimism that the global economy was emerging from recession.
Before the weekend, New York crude dived 2.62 dollars on Friday and London Brent oil wiped out 2.17 dollars after fresh falls on Wall Street.
"Crude futures fell nearly four percent on Friday as US equities slid, causing a moderation of expectations for the strength of global economic growth and recovery in oil demand," said Sucden analyst Nimit Khamar.
He added that the worsening China-US trade dispute was also dampening the market. The United States is the world's biggest energy consuming nation followed by number two China.
"The trade row between China and the US is also weighing on market sentiment, as increased protectionism could hinder a global economic recovery," Khamar said.
"US President Obama on Friday announced additional duties on Chinese manufactured tires.
"In response Beijing accused Washington of 'rampant protectionism' and threatened action against US auto and US poultry imports."
China on Monday hauled the United States to the World Trade Organisation over what it alleged were unfair tariffs imposed by Washington on Chinese tyre imports.
The White House on Friday imposed punitive duties of an extra 35 percent on Chinese-made tyres amid warnings that a surge in the Chinese-made goods had cost more than 5,000 jobs in the United States.
Last week, meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to maintain its production levels as the cartel deemed the market to be "oversupplied". OPEC pumps about 40 percent of world oil supplies.

Chinese stimulus may have lifted intra-Asia trade

GENEVA: China's massive fiscal stimulus may have been the engine that has lifted Asian intra-regional trade in recent months, a joint report by the World Trade Organisation, OECD and UNCTAD said Monday.

"The fact that China's imports grew twice as fast as its exports in July also suggests that intra-Asian trade could be benefiting from the country's fiscal stimulus," said the report.

Trade flows have rebounded more strongly for several Asian economies compared to Western developed economies, said the report, pointing out that the trend suggests that growth "could be due to intra-regional trade."

It cited South Korean export figures as an example, where in July, exports to the world grew at a slower pace of just 22 percent compared to those to Asia, which grew at 26 percent. Exports to China grew at the fastest rate of 27 percent.

Taiwan's government had said in July that the island has benefited from China's four-trillion-yuan (580-billion-dollar) stimulus package which the giant economy unveiled late last year.

The widely-praised fiscal stimulus however came under fire at the "Summer Davos" meet in northeastern China's Dalian city where economists say that it is aggravating imbalances in the economy.

Beijing had said Friday that it was on track to meet its target of eight percent economic growth in 2009 -- the rate it says it needs to ward off social unrest -- thanks largely to the massive programme of government cash handouts.

China calls for WTO talks on US tire tariffs

BEIJING: China accused Washington on Monday of violating World Trade Organization rules by raising tariffs on Chinese tires and demanded talks in the WTO on the latest and most acrimonious in a string of trade disputes.
"The American side's imposition of protective measures on Chinese tires violates WTO regulations," Commerce Ministry spokesman Yao Jian said in a statement. Yao said Beijing was exercising its rights as a WTO member to demand talks to settle the dispute.
President Barack Obama approved the tariffs Friday to slow the rapid growth of U.S. imports of Chinese-made tires that have been blamed for the loss of thousands of American jobs. That drew an accusation of trade protectionism from Beijing.
Yao's statement called on other governments to oppose protectionism.
The White House said Obama acted under a provision in the U.S.-Chinese agreement on Beijing's WTO membership that allows Washington to slow the rise of Chinese imports to allow American industry to adjust.
Obama's order Friday raised tariffs for three years on Chinese tires — by 35 percent in the first year, 30 percent in the second and 25 percent in the third.
The United Steelworkers brought the case in April and said more than 5,000 tire workers have lost jobs since 2004 as Chinese tires flooded the U.S. market.
China's government said Sunday it is launching antidumping investigations into imported U.S. auto and chicken products.
The Commerce Ministry said it would look into complaints that American auto and chicken products are being dumped into the Chinese market or are benefiting from subsidies.