brazil anti inflation plan limps to anniversary inflation plan initially hailed at home and abroad as the saviour of the economy is limping towards its first anniversary amid soaring prices widespread shortages and a foreign payments crisis announced last february the plan froze prices fixed the value of the new cruzado currency and ended widespread indexation of the economy in a bid to halt the country s pct inflation rate but within a year the plan has all but collapsed the situation now is worse than it was although there was inflation at least the economy worked a leading bank economist said the crumbling of the plan has been accompanied by a dramatic reversal in the foreign trade account in and brazil s annual trade surpluses had been sufficient to cover the billion dlrs needed to service its billion dlr foreign debt for the first nine months of all seemed to be on target for a repeat with monthly surpluses averaging one billion dlrs but as exports were diverted and imports increased to avoid further domestic shortages the trade surplus plunged to mln dlrs in october and since then has averaged under mln reuter 
diamond shamrock dia cuts crude prices diamond shamrock corp said that effective today it had cut its contract prices for crude oil by dlrs a barrel the reduction brings its posted price for west texas intermediate to dlrs a barrel the copany said the price reduction today was made in the light of falling oil product prices and a weak crude oil market a company spokeswoman said diamond is the latest in a line of u s oil companies that have cut its contract or posted prices over the last two days citing weak oil markets reuter 
opec may have to meet to firm prices analysts opec may be forced to meet before a scheduled june session to readdress its production cutting agreement if the organization wants to halt the current slide in oil prices oil industry analysts said the movement to higher oil prices was never to be as easy as opec thought they may need an emergency meeting to sort out the problems said daniel yergin director of cambridge energy research associates cera analysts and oil industry sources said the problem opec faces is excess oil supply in world oil markets opec s problem is not a price problem but a production issue and must be addressed in that way said paul mlotok oil analyst with salomon brothers inc he said the market s earlier optimism about opec and its ability to keep production under control have given way to a pessimistic outlook that the organization must address soon if it wishes to regain the initiative in oil prices but some other analysts were uncertain that even an emergency meeting would address the problem of opec production above the mln bpd quota set last december opec has to learn that in a buyers market you cannot have deemed quotas fixed prices and set differentials said the regional manager for one of the major oil companies who spoke on condition that he not be named the market is now trying to teach them that lesson again he added david t mizrahi editor of mideast reports expects opec to meet before june although not immediately however he is not optimistic that opec can address its principal problems they will not meet now as they try to take advantage of the winter demand to sell their oil but in late march and april when demand slackens mizrahi said but mizrahi said that opec is unlikely to do anything more than reiterate its agreement to keep output at mln bpd analysts said that the next two months will be critical for opec s ability to hold together prices and output opec must hold to its pact for the next six to eight weeks since buyers will come back into the market then said dillard spriggs of petroleum analysis ltd in new york but bijan moussavar rahmani of harvard university s energy and environment policy center said that the demand for opec oil has been rising through the first quarter and this may have prompted excesses in its production demand for their opec oil is clearly above mln bpd and is probably closer to mln bpd or higher now so what we are seeing characterized as cheating is opec meeting this demand through current production he told reuters in a telephone interview reuter 
texaco canada cuts crude prices canadian cts bbl par grade to canadian dlrs 
texaco canada txc lowers crude postings texaco canada said it lowered the contract price it will pay for crude oil canadian cts a barrel effective today the decrease brings the company s posted price for the benchmark grade edmonton swann hills light sweet to canadian dlrs a bbl texaco canada last changed its crude oil postings on feb reuter 
marathon petroleum reduces crude postings marathon petroleum co said it reduced the contract price it will pay for all grades of crude oil one dlr a barrel effective today the decrease brings marathon s posted price for both west texas intermediate and west texas sour to dlrs a bbl the south louisiana sweet grade of crude was reduced to dlrs a bbl the company last changed its crude postings on jan reuter 
houston oil ho reserves study completed houston oil trust said that independent petroleum engineers completed an annual study that estimates the trust s future net revenues from total proved reserves at mln dlrs and its discounted present value of the reserves at mln dlrs based on the estimate the trust said there may be no money available for cash distributions to unitholders for the remainder of the year it said the estimates reflect a decrease of about pct in net reserve revenues and pct in discounted present value compared with the study made in reuter 
kuwait says no plans for emergency opec talks kuwait s oil minister in remarks published today said there were no plans for an emergency opec meeting to review oil policies after recent weakness in world oil prices sheikh ali al khalifa al sabah was quoted by the local daily al qabas as saying none of the opec members has asked for such a meeting he denied kuwait was pumping above its quota of barrels of crude daily bpd set under self imposed production limits of the nation organisation traders and analysts in international oil markets estimate opec is producing up to one mln bpd above a ceiling of mln bpd agreed in geneva last december they named kuwait and the united arab emirates along with the much smaller producer ecuador among those producing above quota kuwait they said was pumping mln bpd this rumour is baseless it is based on reports which said kuwait has the ability to exceed its share they suppose that because kuwait has the ability it will do so the minister said sheikh ali has said before that kuwait had the ability to produce up to mln bpd if we can sell more than our quota at official prices while some countries are suffering difficulties marketing their share it means we in kuwait are unusually clever he said he was referring apparently to the gulf state of qatar which industry sources said was selling less than bpd of its bpd quota because buyers were resisting official prices restored by opec last month pegged to a marker of dlrs per barrel prices in new york last week dropped to their lowest levels this year and almost three dollars below a three month high of dollars a barrel sheikh ali also delivered a challenge to any international oil company that declared kuwait sold below official prices because it was charging its official price of dlrs a barrel it had lost custom he said but did not elaborate however kuwait had guaranteed markets for its oil because of its local and international refining facilities and its own distribution network abroad he added he reaffirmed that the planned meeting march of opec s differentials committee has been postponed until the start of april at the request of certain of the body s members ecuador s deputy energy minister fernando santos alvite said last wednesday his debt burdened country wanted opec to assign a lower official price for its crude and was to seek this at talks this month of opec s pricing committee referring to pressure by oil companies on opec members in apparent reference to difficulties faced by qatar he said we expected such pressure it will continue through march and april but he expected the situation would later improve reuter 
indonesia seen at crossroads over economic change indonesia appears to be nearing a political crossroads over measures to deregulate its protected economy the u s embassy says in a new report to counter falling oil revenues the government has launched a series of measures over the past nine months to boost exports outside the oil sector and attract new investment indonesia the only asian member of opec and a leading primary commodity producer has been severely hit by last year s fall in world oil prices which forced it to devalue its currency by pct in september but the u s embassy report says president suharto s government appears to be divided over what direction to lead the economy it appears to be nearing a crossroads with regard to deregulation both as it pertains to investments and imports the report says it primarily assesses indonesia s agricultural sector but also reviews the country s general economic performance it says that while many government officials and advisers are recommending further relaxation there are equally strong pressures being exerted to halt all such moves this group strongly favours an import substitution economy the report says indonesia s economic changes have been welcomed by the world bank and international bankers as steps in the right direction though they say crucial areas of the economy like plastics and steel remain highly protected and virtual monopolies three sets of measures have been announced since last may which broadened areas for foreign investment reduced trade restrictions and liberalised imports the report says indonesia s economic growth in calendar was probably about zero and the economy may even have contracted a bit this is the lowest rate of growth since the mid s the report notes indonesia the largest country in south east asia with a population of million is facing general elections in april but the report hold out little hope for swift improvement in the economic outlook for early indications point to a slightly positive growth rate not exceeding one pct economic activity continues to suffer due to the sharp fall in export earnings from the petroleum industry growth in the non oil sector is low because of weak domestic demand coupled with excessive plant capacity real declines in construction and trade and a reduced level of growth in agriculture the report states bankers say continuation of present economic reforms is crucial for the government to get the international lending its needs a new world bank loan of mln dlrs last month in balance of payments support was given partly to help the government maintain the momentum of reform the bank said reuter 
saudi riyal deposit rates remain firm saudi riyal interbank deposits were steady at yesterday s higher levels in a quiet market traders said they were reluctant to take out new positions amidst uncertainty over whether opec will succeed in halting the current decline in oil prices oil industry sources said yesterday several gulf arab producers had had difficulty selling oil at official opec prices but kuwait has said there are no plans for an emergency meeting of the member organisation a traditional sunday lull in trading due to the european weekend also contributed to the lack of market activity spot next and one week rates were put at pct after quotes ranging between seven six yesterday one three and six month deposits were quoted unchanged at and pct respectively the spot riyal was quietly firmer at to the dollar after quotes of yesterday reuter 
qatar unveils budget for fiscal the gulf oil state of qatar recovering slightly from last year s decline in world oil prices announced its first budget since early and projected a deficit of billion riyals the deficit compared with a shortfall of billion riyals in the last published budget for in a statement outlining the budget for the fiscal year beginning today finance and petroleum minister sheikh abdul aziz bin khalifa al thani said the government expected to spend billion riyals in the period projected expenditure in the budget had been billion riyals sheikh abdul aziz said government revenue would be about billion riyals down by about pct on the projected revenue of billion the government failed to publish a budget due to uncertainty surrounding oil revenues sheikh abdul aziz said that during that year the government decided to limit recurrent expenditure each month to one twelfth of the previous fiscal year s allocations minus pct he urged heads of government departments and public institutions to help the government rationalise expenditure he did not say how the budget shortfall would be covered sheikh abdul aziz said plans to limit expenditure in had been taken in order to relieve the burden placed on the country s foreign reserves he added in some billion riyals had been allocated for major projects including housing and public buildings social services health education transport and communications electricity and water industry and agriculture no figure was revealed for expenditure on defence and security there was also no projection for oil revenue qatar an opec member has an output ceiling of barrels per day sheikh abdul aziz said our expectations of positive signs regarding oil price trends foremost among them opec s determination to shoulder its responsibilites and protect its wealth have helped us make reasonable estimates for the coming year s revenue on the basis of our assigned quota reuter 
gulf bond stock markets lag behind gib says gulf money markets have grown reasonably well during the past decade but bond and stock markets remain to a large extent fragmented and lag behind gulf international bank bsc gib said the bank s economist henry azzam said in a review of gulf capital markets that investors have to relinquish traditional investment vehicles such as real estate foreign currency bank accounts and precious metals greater financial sophistication is needed coupled with more diversified capital market instruments and a change in the disclosure requirements on company accounts he said the gib study reviewed capital markets under three categories money markets stock and bond markets azzam said gulf states had been making greater use of short term money market instruments and banks in the region had floated various euronotes and underwriting facilities nevertheless bond and stock markets remain to a large extent fragmented and lagging behind he said most debt in the region is still raised by syndicated loans and bank facilities and very few companies had made use of stock or bond issues only kuwait has an official stock exchange while other gulf nations have yet to establish exchanges but with dwindling financial surpluses in the gulf governments are actively pursuing ways to develop capital markets and set up domestic stock exchanges azzam said he said recession stemming from sliding oil prices had clearly had a negative impact on the development of capital markets in the region in addition family firms are reluctant to go public financial awareness among investors is still lacking and investment analysis and corporate reporting standards lack depth a sharp fall in share prices in the early s prompted investors to hold on to shares hoping for an eventual recovery azzam said the absence of proper commercial law in some gulf countries and authorities apparent reluctance to adopt financial innovations had also hampered capital markets he called for clearly defined laws governing incorporation of joint stock companies and the flotation of debt instruments azzam said capital market instruments should be made available to all citizens and institutions of gulf cooperation council gcc states bahrain kuwait qatar oman saudi arabia and the united arab emirates uae some moves had been taken in this direction with bahrain allowing gcc nationals to own up to pct of locally incorporated companies azzam said gulf money markets had received greater depth from the introduction of treasury bill offerings in bahrain and the expansion of securities repurchase regulations in saudi arabia but he added there is no bond market to speak of in saudi arabia qatar oman or the uae with the last saudi riyal denominated bond issued in while bahrain plans an official stock exchange and trading in saudi arabia has picked up establishment of formal exchanges in qatar oman and the uae does not appear imminent azzam said reuter 
saudi arabia reiterates commitment to opec pact saudi arabian oil minister hisham nazer reiterated the kingdom s commitment to last december s opec accord to boost world oil prices and stabilise the market the official saudi press agency spa said asked by the agency about the recent fall in free market oil prices nazer said saudi arabia is fully adhering by the accord and it will never sell its oil at prices below the pronounced prices under any circumstance nazer quoted by spa said recent pressure on free market prices may be because of the end of the northern hemisphere winter season and the glut in the market saudi arabia was a main architect of the december accord under which opec agreed to lower its total output ceiling by pct to mln barrels per day bpd and return to fixed prices of around dlrs a barrel the agreement followed a year of turmoil on oil markets which saw prices slump briefly to under dlrs a barrel in mid from about dlrs in late free market prices are currently just over dlrs nazer was quoted by the spa as saying saudi arabia s adherence to the accord was shown clearly in the oil market he said contacts among members of opec showed they all wanted to stick to the accord in jamaica opec president rilwanu lukman who is also nigerian oil minister said the group planned to stick with the pricing agreement we are aware of the negative forces trying to manipulate the operations of the market but we are satisfied that the fundamentals exist for stable market conditions he said kuwait s oil minister sheikh ali al khalifa al sabah said in remarks published in the emirate s daily al qabas there were no plans for an emergency opec meeting to review prices traders and analysts in international oil markets estimate opec is producing up to one mln bpd above the mln ceiling they named kuwait and the united arab emirates along with the much smaller producer ecuador among those producing above quota sheikh ali denied that kuwait was over producing reuter 
zambia to retain currency auction says kaunda zambia will retain its foreign exchange auction system despite the suspension of weekly auctions since january president kenneth kaunda said we have not run away from the auction it hasn t been abolished at all he told reuters in an interview he said the system would be reintroduced after current talks with the world bank and the international monetary fund and he hoped would be backed by fresh foreign aid funds kaunda dismissed central bank statements the new auction system would be used to allocate foreign exchange to private bidders but not to fix the exchange rate kaunda said the auction system had faltered because of the government s shortage of foreign exchange to meet demand it was suspended when the kwacha s rapid devaluation and strong fluctuations made economic planning almost impossible for the government and the private sector he said weekly foreign exchange auctions began in october the kwacha fell from to the dollar to about in months in january the government was more than two months in arrears in paying foreign currency to successful bidders and the auction was suspended and replaced with a fixed exchange rate of nine kwacha to the dollar reuter 
japan february interim trade surplus jumps japan s customs cleared trade surplus in the first days of february jumped to billion dlrs from billion a year earlier the finance ministry said the february interim surplus was sharply up from a mln dlr surplus in the same january period fob exports rose pct from a year earlier in the first days of february to billion while cif imports fell pct to billion the average dollar yen rates were for exports and for imports against for exports and for imports a year earlier reuter 
saudi february crude output put at mln bpd saudi crude oil output last month fell to an average of mln barrels per day bpd from mln bpd in january gulf oil sources said they said exports from the ras tanurah and ju aymah terminals in the gulf fell to an average mln bpd last month from mln in january because of lower liftings by some customers but the drop was much smaller than expected after gulf exports rallied in the fourth week of february to mln bpd from mln in the third week the sources said the production figures include neutral zone output but not sales from floating storage which are generally considered part of a country s output for opec purposes saudi arabia has an opec quota of mln bpd under a production restraint scheme approved by the nation group last december to back new official oil prices averaging dlrs a barrel the sources said the two fold jump in exports last week appeared to be the result of buyers rushing to lift february entitlements before the month end last week s high export levels appeared to show continued support for official opec prices from saudi arabia s main crude customers the four ex partners of aramco the sources said the four exxon corp xon mobil corp mob texaco inc tx and chevron corp chv signed a long term agreement last month to buy saudi crude for dlrs a barrel however the sources said the real test of saudi arabia s ability to sell crude at official prices in a weak market will come this month when demand for petroleum products traditionally tapers off spot prices have fallen in recent weeks to more than one dlr below opec levels saudi arabian oil minister hisham nazer yesterday reiterated the kingdom s commitment to the december opec accord and said it would never sell below official prices the sources said total saudi refinery throughput fell slightly in february to an average mln bpd from mln in january because of cuts at the yanbu and jubail export refineries they put crude oil exports through yanbu at bpd last month compared to zero in january while throughput at bahrain s refinery and neutral zone production remained steady at around bpd each reuter 
sweden to go ahead with s african trade sanctions sweden s ruling social democratic party gave full power to the government to decree unilateral trade sanctions against south africa prime minister ingvar calrsson said carlsson told a news conference the party decided the fight against apartheid took priority over sweden s traditional policy of only adopting sanctions with the backing of the u n security council the government will decide later what form the trade boycott will take and when it will come into force reuter 
japan u s set to begin high level trade talks japan and the u s kick off top level trade talks tomorrow amid signs officials from both sides are growing increasingly irritated with each other the talks held annually at sub cabinet level to review the whole gamut of u s japan economic relations will pave the way for american secretary of state george schultz s one day stop over here at end week on his way home from china faced with growing congressional protectionist pressure the u s administration is pressing japan for speedy action to reduce its still huge trade surplus u s officials said we appreciate their frustration a senior japanese government official said but we are also frustrated the official said the pct rise of the yen over the last months has hit japan hard forcing exporters to slash spending and lay off workers to make up for lost sales abroad that has not yet shown up in dollar based statistics on trade but it will he said he said the u s administration was ignoring the progress that has been made and instead emphasizing the problems that remain when it talks with congress it would only take five minutes to list their accomplishments a senior u s official replied the talks begin tomorrow with high level discussions on the economic structures of both countries and how they affect the bilateral trade imbalance which last year amounted to billion dlrs in japan s favour on the following two days the topics will range from multilateral trade talks under the auspices of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt to such bilateral trade problems as super computers the structural talks are intended to be free wheeling discussions among senior officials tomorrow s topics include savings and investment issues such as consumer credit and housing and the implications of government budget deficits these talks come at a particularly delicate time for the japanese government which is facing increasing domestic pressure to abandon its tight fisted fiscal policy and stimulate the sagging economy by spending more some u s officials complained japan has no intention of boosting domestic demand and imports as washington wants japanese officials in turn pointed the finger at the huge u s budget deficit as one of the main culprits for the trade imbalance that budget deficit has meant that the u s is buying more imports japan seems particularly peeved at being singled in a draft trade bill before the senate as a nation following adverserial trade practices it condemns japan without due process one japanese official said that reference spoils what is otherwise a well thought out bill introduced by democratic senator lloyd bentsen he said japan is also not totally happy with the administration s trade bill particularly its proposal to establish reciprocal access to foreign markets as one criteria for retaliatory trade action by the u s officials said nevertheless japanese officials said they remain in a weak bargaining position especially with the threat of a trade bill overhanging them we have no leverage one official admitted as a result tokyo is striving to meet u s complaints about its trade practices in a variety of fields including super computers the u s is pressing for greater access to the japanese super computer market the japanese government has sent a long questionnaire to public institutions like universities which buy the sophisticated machines in hopes of eventually setting up informal bidding procedures easily understood by all potential sellers officials said reuter 
gulf arab deputy oil ministers to meet in bahrain deputy oil ministers from six gulf arab states will meet in bahrain today to discuss coordination of crude oil marketing the official emirates news agency wam reported wam said the officials would be discussing implementation of last sunday s agreement in doha by gulf cooperation council gcc oil ministers to help each other market their crude oil four of the gcc states saudi arabia the united arab emirates uae kuwait and qatar are members of the organiaation of petroleum exporting countries opec and some face stiff buyer resistance to official opec prices reuter 
saudi arabia reiterates commitment to opec accord saudi arabian oil minister hisham nazer reiterated the kingdom s commitment to last december s opec accord to boost world oil prices and stabilize the market the official saudi press agency spa said asked by the agency about the recent fall in free market oil prices nazer said saudi arabia is fully adhering by the accord and it will never sell its oil at prices below the pronounced prices under any circumstance saudi arabia was a main architect of december pact under which opec agreed to cut its total oil output ceiling by pct and return to fixed prices of around dollars a barrel reuter 
kuwait minister says no emergency opec talks set kuwait s oil minister said in a newspaper interview that there were no plans for an emergency opec meeting after the recent weakness in world oil prices sheikh ali al khalifa al sabah was quoted by the local daily al qabas as saying that none of the opec members has asked for such a meeting he also denied that kuwait was pumping above its opec quota of barrels of crude daily bpd crude oil prices fell sharply last week as international oil traders and analysts estimated the nation opec was pumping up to one million bpd over its self imposed limits reuter 
taiwan plans new tariff cuts taiwan plans another round of deep tariff cuts this year to help narrow its trade surplus with the u s a senior economic planner said wang chao ming vice chairman of the council for economic planning and development told reuters taiwan would further reduce import tariffs on products sometime in the second half of this year cuts of up to pct on those items were made last year and wang said further cuts would go much deeper we have to speed up liberalisation and cut import tariffs faster and more substantially he said the united states taiwan s main trading partner has said the island s import tariffs still ranging from a high of almost pct were unacceptable it has criticised the cuts as too selective taiwan s trade surplus with the united states hit billion dlrs last year the surplus has boosted foreign exchange reserves to billion dlrs which wang said made taiwan a target for u s protectionism wang said the trade surplus and the reserves weakened taiwan s position in talks with washington over export quotas particularly for shoes textiles and machine tools which are among the island s main export earners a special taiwanese trade delegation leaves for washington tomorrow to try to renegotiate an agreement signed last year limiting exports of taiwan textiles under the accord taiwan s textile export growth was limited to pct each year until taipei has said it is losing markets to south korea and hong kong which were given more generous terms reuter 
shell canada cuts crude oil prices by up to canadian dlrs bbl effective march one 
study group urges increased u s oil reserves a study group said the united states should increase its strategic petroleum reserve to one mln barrels as one way to deal with the present and future impact of low oil prices on the domestic oil industry u s policy now is to raise the strategic reserve to mln barrels from its present mln to help protect the economy from an overseas embargo or a sharp price rise the aspen institute for humanistic studies a private group also called for new research for oil exploration and development techniques it predicted prices would remain at about dlrs a barrel for several years and then rise to the mid s with imports at about pct of u s consumption it said instead that such moves as increasing oil reserves and more exploration and development research would help to guard against or mitigate the risks of increased imports reuter 
study group urges increased u s oil reserves a study group said the united states should increase its strategic petroleum reserve to one mln barrels as one way to deal with the present and future impact of low oil prices on the domestic oil industry u s policy now is to raise the strategic reserve to mln barrels from its present mln to help protect the economy from an overseas embargo or a sharp price rise the aspen institute for humanistic studies a private group also called for new research for oil exploration and development techniques it predicted prices would remain at about dlrs a barrel for several years and then rise to the mid s with imports at about pct of u s consumption the study cited two basic policy paths for the nation to protect the u s industry through an import fee or other such device or to accept the full economic benefits of cheap oil but the group did not strongly back either option saying there were benefits and drawbacks to both it said instead that such moves as increasing oil reserves and more exploration and development research would help to guard against or mitigate the risks of increased imports reuter 
petro canada cut crude prices by canadian dlrs bbl effective march one 
unocal ucl unit cuts crude oil posted prices unocal corp s union oil co said it lowered its posted prices for crude oil one to dlrs a barrel in the eastern region of the u s effective feb union said a dlrs cut brings its posted price for the u s benchmark grade west texas intermediate to dlrs louisiana sweet also was lowered dlrs to dlrs the company said no changes were made in union s posted prices for west coast grades of crude oil the company said reuter 
nymex will expand off hour trading april one the new york mercantile exchange set april one for the debut of a new procedure in the energy complex that will increase the use of energy futures worldwide on april one nymex will allow oil traders that do not hold a futures position to initiate after the exchange closes a transaction that can subsequently be hedged in the futures market according to an exchange spokeswoman this will change the way oil is transacted in the real world said said thomas mckiernan mckiernan and co chairman foreign traders will be able to hedge trades against nymex prices before the exchange opens and negotiate prices at a differential to nymex prices mckiernan explained the expanded program will serve the industry because the oil market does not close when nymex does said frank capozza secretary of century resources inc the rule change which has already taken effect for platinum futures on nymex is expected to increase the open interest and liquidity in u s energy futures according to traders and analysts currently at least one trader in this transaction called an exchange for physical or efp must hold a futures position before entering into the transaction under the new arrangement neither party has to hold a futures position before entering into an efp and one or both parties can offset their cash transaction with a futures contract the next day according to exchange officials when nymex announced its proposed rule change in december nymex president rosemary mcfadden said expansion of the efp provision will add to globalization of the energy markets by providing for in effect hour trading the commodity futures trading commission approved the rule change in february according to a cftc spokeswoman reuter 
talks show new canadian confidence group says canada s decision to raise the issue of a free trade pact with the u s was a sign of what many see as a new spirit of canadian self confidence a public policy study group said it suggests the canada of the immediate post war period when it was a major player in the process of building a postwar world the washington based atlantic council said u s and canadian negotiators opened talks last summer aimed at dismantling trade barriers between the two countries the world s biggest trading partners with crossborder shipments of about billion dlrs annually the council s study said the trade talks with a deadline of october for an agreement are the biggest issue in u s canadian relations the study said liberalized trade between the two countries would improve the competitiveness of their economies in world markets and lessen trade irritants which now mar their ties the council said in the past most canadians have shied away from the notion of a free trade arrangement fearing to be overwhelmed economically and politically by a closer association with a country times their size in population but at the same time it added canadians realized their domestic market was too small to permit the mass production and sales needed to raise productivity to the level demanded by an increasingly competitive world the council said that in the talks canada is chiefly interested in minimizing the imposing of u s duties against allegedly subsidized exports a recent example was the per cent duty the u s imposed on canadian lumber exports on grounds the shipments were being subsidized the council said the chief u s concerns included ending curbs against u s banking insurance telecommunications and the so called cultural industries publishing broadcasting and films it said other major u s canadian issues were defense cooperation acid rain and the u s rejection of a canadian assertion of sovereignty over waters of the northwest passage reuter 
nymex rule change seen boosting energy trade the new york mercantile exchange said it will introduce exchanges for physicals efps to its energy futures markets april one an exchange spokeswoman said the change will allow oil traders that do not hold a futures position to initiate after the exchange closes a transaction that can subsequently be hedged in the futures market efps already in effect for platinum futures on nymex are expected to increase the open interest and liquidity in u s energy futures according to traders and analysts the commodity futures trading commission approved the rule change in february according to a cftc spokeswoman reuter 
greece says it has right on aegean oil drilling greece responding to a warning by turkey against conducting oil activities in the aegean sea said today it had the right to decide where and how to do research or drilling work in the area a government spokesman said the greek position was made clear to turkey s ambassador nazmi akiman when he met greek foreign affairs undersecretary yannis kapsis last week acting turkish prime minister kaya erdem said earlier today greek activities in the northern aegean contravened the berne agreement which set the framework for talks on the aegean continental shelf disputed between ankara and athens the greek statement today said greece is not prepared to give up even a trace of its sovereignty rights to the seabed it has been stressed to mr akiman that the decision where or how to drill belongs exclusively to the greek government the greek government has repeatedly let the turkish side know that it considers the berne protocol as inactive through the fault of turkey it said the greek statement said athens was ready to put the continental shelf issue before international courts reuter 
opec within output ceiling subroto says opec remains within its agreed output ceiling of mln barrels a day and had expected current fluctuations in the spot market of one or two dlrs indonesian energy minister subroto said he told reporters after meeting with president suharto that present weakness in the spot oil market was the result of warmer weather in the u s and europe which reduced demand for oil prices had also been forced down because refineries were using up old stock he said he denied that opec was exceeding its agreed production ceiling asked what opec s output level was now he replied below mln barrels per day he did not elaborate he said there appeared to have been some attempts to manipulate the market but if all opec members stick by the cartel s december pricing agreement it would get through present price difficulties he predicted that prices would recover again in the third and fourth quarters of he also reiterated that there was no need for an emergency opec meeting he said opec had expected to see some fluctuations in the spot price we hope the weak price will be overcome and predict the price will be better in the third and fourth quarters refiners he said appeared to have used up old stock deliberately to cause slack demand in the market and the price to fall but opec would get through this period if members stuck together reuter 
japan moves to tighten chip export curbs the ministry of international trade and industry miti acted to tighten restrictions on microchip exports to countries other than the u s to preserve a u s japan pact on semiconductor trade but major japanese chipmakers doubt its usefulness a miti spokesman said his ministry had asked chipmakers to issue certificates to specified trading houses stating they are authorised exporters trading houses applying for a miti export licence will be required to show such a certificate but those without it will not automatically be denied licences he said but some industry officials predicted any government measures were likely to have limited effect as long as the world semiconductor market remained weak u s government and industry officials have complained repeatedly that japanese chipmakers continue to sell at below cost to third countries despite the july agreement japanese firms and officials in turn argue the flow of cheap chips to third countries is due to grey market sales by third party brokers who seek to profit from the gap between low prices in japan and higher prices based on production costs and set for japanese makers under the agreement the miti spokesman said if the percentage of grey market is increasing for one specific company it suggests they are distributing their products through their sales network knowing they will be exported by some means in that case we will ask them what they are doing to reduce the figure miti earlier asked makers to cut output of certain chips by pct in first quarter spokesmen for the firms said but they doubt the usefulness of the latest move as long as there is a gap between prices set under the pact and market prices there will be people who want to exploit the gap to make money a hitachi ltd hit t spokesman said reuter 
philippine planning chief urges peso devaluation the philippines must devalue the peso if it wants its exports to remain competitive economic planning secretary solita monsod told reuters the peso dollar rate has to be undercut to make our exports more competitive monsod said an interview no question about it i m saying you cannot argue with success taiwan south korea west germany japan all those miracle economies deliberately undervalued their currencies the peso has been free floating since june it is currently at about to the u s dollar finance secretary jaime ongpin has said the government does not intend to devalue the peso and wants it to be flexible and able to continue to respond to market conditions monsod said ongpin was looking at the exchange rate from the point of view of finance if the dollar rate goes higher our debt service in terms of pesos gets higher so the financing is very difficult she said but i am looking at it in terms of the economy she said she was not trying to oppose official policy i m just saying keep it competitive i do not want it to become uncompetitive because then we are dead monsod said the ideal movement in the peso dollar rate is a movement that will reflect differences in inflation rates of the philippines versus the other country it s an arithmetic thing official figures show philippine inflation averaged pct in calendar ongpin told reporters on saturday it was expected to touch five pct this year he said the government and the international monetary fund had set the peso dollar target rate at the peso lost pct in value to slump to to the dollar when it was floated in reuter 
pemex signs mln dlr japan loan for pipeline mexican state oil firm petroleos mexicanos pemex signed for a mln dlr untied loan from the export import bank of japan to finance its pacific petroleum project pemex japan representative tito ayal said no further details on the loan were immediately available ayala told an oil seminar the project due for completion in is aimed at improving distribution of oil products in the domestic market mainly along the pacific coast the project consists of a pipeline linking nueva teapa on the gulf of mexico with salina cruz on the pacific coast and construction of the second phase of the salina cruz refinery the project also includes construction of liquified petroleum gas lpg storage tanks at santa cruz additional crude oil storage at both ends of the pipeline an ammonia complex at lazaro cardenas on the pacific coast and expansion of the infrastructure of the port of salina cruz ayala said pemex will buy mln dlrs worth of foreign equipment and materials for the project he said the new pipeline will enable japan to load mexico s maya crude oil at salina cruz rather than in the gulf of mexico pemex will also have some lpg surplus available in salina cruz that may help japan diversify its supply sources of that product he added reuter 
swiss capital exports rise in january swiss capital exports rose to billion francs in january after billion in december and a year earlier billion the swiss national bank said new bond issues accounted for billion of the total after december s billion and credits mln after mln in january before the national bank ended the distinction between notes and bonds bond issues totalled billion francs notes billion and credits mln reuter 
china calls for better trade deal with u s china called on the united states to remove curbs on its exports to give it favourable trading status and ease restrictions on exports of high technology but the u s embassy replied that chinese figures showing years of trade deficits with the u s out of the last are inaccurate and said peking itself would have to persuade congress to change laws which limit its exports the official international business newspaper today published china s demands in a editorial to coincide with the visit of u s secretary of state george shultz it is extremely important that the u s market reduce its restrictions on chinese imports provide the needed facilities for them and businessmen from both sides help to expand chinese exports the editorial said the u s should quickly discard its prejudice against favourable tariff treatment for chinese goods and admit china into the generalised system of preference gsp despite easing of curbs on u s technology exports in recent years control of them is still extremely strict and influences normal trade between the two countries it added the paper also printed an article by china s commercial counsellor in its washington embassy chen shibiao who said that all kinds of difficulties and restrictions were preventing bilateral trade fulfilling its full potential he named them as u s protectionist behaviour curbs on technology transfer and out of date trade legislation the paper also printed a table showing that since bilateral trade began in china has had a deficit every year except and it shows the and deficits at billion and billion dlrs a u s embassy official said the u s did not accept peking s trade figures at all mainly because they exclude goods shipped to hong kong and then trans shipped to u s while u s figures are based on country of origin he said that if china wants to obtain gsp status it will have to lobby congress itself to persaude it to amend several laws which currently prevent peking getting such status the u s trade act of says that to qualify for gsp china must be a member of the general agreement of tariffs and trade gatt for which it applied in july and not be dominated or controlled by international communism the official said china was well aware of the laws some of which date to the anti communist early s but that there is not sufficient political will in the u s to change them china has been the subject of about a dozen cases involving anti dumping in the u s within the last two years which the u s side won he said but for the first time china signed last week an agreement which it itself initiated to voluntarily restrain exports of at least two categories of steel goods which may lead the u s side to withdraw the anti dumping case he added another diplomat said willingness to provide such voluntary export restraints would be an important issue in bilateral trade issues and in peking s application to gatt china has the potential to disrupt world markets especially in textiles other gatt countries will be nervous about china in this respect but there is a precedent for other centralled planned economies in gatt the diplomat said poland czechoslovakia hungary and romania are members of gatt but none has china s massive market potential for imports or its vast labour pool to produce cheap exports in a speech today in the northeast city of dalian u s secretary of state george shultz said his country welcomed china s interest in participating in gatt the process of chinese accession will not be accomplished overnight the gatt rules were not designed for a large economy of the chinese type shultz said china can play an important role by actively joining gatt discussions seeking to expand general trading opportunities and enhance market access for exports worldwide china can further develop its foreign trade system so as to gain the maximum benefit from its gatt participation he said the problems facing u s china trade and gatt membership are similar a pricing system which many foreign businessmen regard as arbitrary and not related to actual costs especially for exports and a de facto dual currency system in a memorandum backing its application presented to gatt last month china said it was gradually reforming its economic system and replacing mandatory instruction with guidance planning and economic levers the diplomat said that to join gatt china had much to do reuter 
mobil plan to open peking office china daily says mobil corp mob n of the u s plans to open an office in peking to develop oil exploration opportunities in china the china daily said it quoted mobil president richard tucker currently in peking as saying he is optimistic about investment prospects in china and that peking will continue to encourage foreign private businesses to invest here it said mobil bought mln dlrs of crude oil and oil products from china in and sold it lubricant and fertiliser but gave no more details reuter 
mobil plans to open office in peking mobil oil corp of u s plans to open an office in peking to develop oil exploration opportunities in china the china daily said it quoted mobil president richard tucker currently in peking as saying he is optimistic about investment prospects in china and that peking will continue to encourage foreign private businesses to invest here it said mobil bought mln dlrs of crude oil and oil products from china in and sold it lubricant and fertiliser but gave no more details reuter 
opec within output ceiling subroto says opec remains within its agreed output ceiling of mln barrels a day and had expected current fluctuations in the spot market of one or two dlrs indonesian energy minister subroto said he told reporters after meeting with president suharto that present weakness in the spot oil market was the result of warmer weather in the u s and europe which reduced demand for oil prices had also been forced down because refineries were using up old stock he said he denied that opec was exceeding its agreed production ceiling asked what opec s output level was now he replied below mln barrels per day he did not elaborate he said there appeared to have been some attempts to manipulate the market but if all opec members stick by the cartel s december pricing agreement it would get through present price difficulties he predicted that prices would recover again in the third and fourth quarters of he also reiterated that there was no need for an emergency opec meeting he said opec had expected to see some fluctuations in the spot price we hope the weak price will be overcome and predict the price will be better in the third and fourth quarters refiners he said appeared to have used up old stock deliberately to cause slack demand in the market and the price to fall but opec would get through this period if members stuck together reuter 
u s asks japan end agriculture import controls the u s wants japan to eliminate import controls on agricultural products within three years visiting u s under secretary of state for economic affairs allen wallis told eishiro saito chairman of the federation of economic organisations keidanren a spokesman for keidanren said the spokesman quoted wallis as saying drastic measures would be needed to stave off protectionist legislation by congress wallis who is attending a sub cabinet level bilateral trade meeting made the remark yesterday in talks with saito wallis was quoted as saying the reagan administration wants japanese cooperation so the white house can ensure any u s trade bill is a moderate one rather than containing retaliatory measures or antagonising any particular country he was also quoted as saying the u s would be pleased were japan to halve restrictions on agricultural imports within five years if the country cannot cope with abolition within three the spokesman said japan currently restricts imports of agricultural products a ban on rice imports triggered recent u s complaints about japan s agricultural policy reuter 
china calls for better trade deal with u s china called on the united states to remove curbs on its exports to give it favourable trading status and ease restrictions on exports of high technology but the u s embassy replied that chinese figures showing years of trade deficits with the u s out of the last are inaccurate and said peking itself would have to persuade congress to change laws which limit its exports the official international business newspaper today published china s demands in a editorial to coincide with the visit of u s secretary of state george shultz it is extremely important that the u s market reduce its restrictions on chinese imports provide the needed facilities for them and businessmen from both sides help to expand chinese exports the editorial said the u s should quickly discard its prejudice against favourable tariff treatment for chinese goods and admit china into the generalised system of preference gsp despite easing of curbs on u s technology exports in recent years control of them is still extremely strict and influences normal trade between the two countries it added the paper also printed an article by china s commercial counsellor in its washington embassy chen shibiao who said that all kinds of difficulties and restrictions were preventing bilateral trade fulfilling its full potential he named them as u s protectionist behaviour curbs on technology transfer and out of date trade legislation reuter 
former treasury official urges currency reforms former treasury official c fred bergsten said a new exchange rate system is needed to replace the fixed and flexible exchange rate systems which he said had not worked i prefer a move to target zones in which the major countries would determine ranges of pct within which they would pledge to hold their exchange rates by direct intervention and as necessary by changes in monetary and other policies bergsten now the director of the institute for international economics said in a statement to a house banking subcommittee the substantial correction of the exchange rate that has occurred since early is enormously welcome and should produce a sizeable reduction in the u s trade deficit this year and next but the imbalance will not fall much below billion dlrs on present policies so much more is needed he said reuter 
belgian says ec would react to textile bill belgian foreign trade minister herman de croo said if congress passed legislation curbing world textile imports the only way the european community ec could react was to retaliate de croo said at a news conference if you limit textile imports you will re orient textiles to europe and that he said would trigger ec taxes on u s goods congress passed a textile bill two years ago but it was vetoed by president reagan on grounds that curbing imports to protect the domestic textile industry would trigger retaliation u s trading partners a similar bill has been introducted this year in a congress with a bigger democratic majority and with a president weakened by the iran scandal de croo here for talks with administration officials and congressmen said if a textile bill passed the only way we could react would be retaliation and it would cause more retaliation which is not a good way to deal with problems he said if a textile bill was enacted we will impose taxes on a lot of american products he said it would be stupid we have to avoid that he said congressmen seem upset mosty with japan because of its massive trade suprlus with the united states and not with ec nations but ec nations will be hurt by the diverted shipments of asian textiles de croo also criticized the way u s officials try to solve ec trade issues saying each time we come in contact it a conflict contact the clouts are coming fom the west he said it then is a crisis atmosphere with officials cross the atlantic and dramatized with headlines this is not the way to work in a serious way between two big powers de croo said reuter 
rostenkowski says he will oppose protectionist trade bill in u s house 
rostenkowski opposes protectionist trade bill house ways and means committee chairman dan rostenkowski said congress must avoid a temptation to pass a protectionist trade bill this year in remarks prepared for delivery before the national press club rostenkowski d ill predicted major trade legislation will be sent to president reagan by the end of this year but he warned that his conciliatory message on the trade bill did not mean he would oppose a proposal that would warn other countries their access to the american market would be curtailed unless they opened their markets to u s goods complaints about foreign trade restraints are not a smoke screen for protectionism they a plea for fairness rostenkowski said it is only reasonable to ask the nations that have denied us access to open up in return for continued freedom in the american market he added however he said there would likely be changes in the market access proposal from the plan which cleared the house last year that plan would have set a specific time table for foreign countries to ease import restraints or they would face a pct cut in exports to the united states reuter 
u k exports body gets new executive director export credits guarantee department has named malcolm stephens director of export finance at barclay s bank plc and a former career civil servant at ecgd for years to the post of executive director a department spokesman said stephens replaces jack gill who is retiring early aged a drop in the ecgd s business volume and a rise in its debt to the exchequer have led to criticism in parliament in recent years stephens said the fall in business volume was a top convern adding that the department may have to compete more aggressively with private insurance firms providing similar services the department s annual report for the year ended march showed exports insured by the department fell to billion stg from billion the year before while its debt to the exchequer almost doubled to mln stg stephens said he had no specific list of changes but among his chief concerns was the weakened condition of lesser developed countries and their ability to pay for their imports the agency will have to review its policies on insuring export credits to lesser credits on a country by country basis he said large lump political risk insurance is the sort of thing we want to take a look at you have to try to look forward to see if you are simply in a peak and trough situation or it is a more long term thing stephens said in response to a qustion about whether ecgd will strike more countries from its list of political risk insurance recipients he noted that certain countries have already been removed from the list reuter 
rostenkowski reluctant to back tax hike house ways and means committee chairman dan rostenkowski said he would be reluctant to back the tax increase if it did not have president reagan s support he told a national press club luncheon there would be a number of tax proposals that could be debated if reagan sought a tax increase to help balance the budget however he said he would prefer to leave the tax rates enacted in last year s tax reform bill unchanged there have been calls in congress to hold the rates at the level rather than allow them to fall next year reagan proposed billion dlrs in revenue as part of his budget proposal but it did not include general tax increases on trade issues rostenkowski said he did not expect the major trade bill this year would single out any u s industry for special protection to go after individual items in a trade bill is suicide he said this apparently ruled out congressional approval of another textile trade bill to limit quotas on textile imports as was proposed again this year reuter 
oil prices rise on saudi effort crude oil prices rallied today moving over dlrs a barrel because of saudi arabia s determined effort to support prices analysts said the saudis and other opec nations are jawboning the market hoping to restore confidence and prices and to do this without another meeting said sanford margoshes oil analyst with shearson lehman brothers inc but opec is not out of the woods yet by a longshot due to seasonal declines in demand and some cheating he added oil industry analysts said saudi arabia has led the attempt to get other opec members to resist pressures to discount from the official prices agreed to last december the analysts said that to get others to hold the line saudi arabia pushed hard at the meeting of deputy oil ministers of the gulf cooperation council last weekend and at the cooperation council oil ministers meeting the previous week the saudis have also offered to support members having difficulty in selling their oil analysts said they are trying to make sure that no one discounts and to prevent that it appears that saudi arabia or some other opec member will allocate some of their oil sales to help members that lose sales margoshes said he added that the allocations would probably be in the form of loans to be repaid when these nations resume sales analysts said this would be useful in keeping in line nations like qatar which has had trouble selling oil but it is also likely that such assistance would be provided to nigeria which is under pressure to extend discounts analysts said that saudi arabia with assistance from opec president rilwanu lukman was trying to avoid an emergency opec meeting for fear that it would give the appearance that the december pact is falling apart daniel mckinley oil analyst with smith barney upham harris and co said both physical and futures markets have been oversold and it only took a small spark to bring on a short covering rally he believes an iranian trade mission to tokyo which refused discounts to japanese buyers brought japanese refiners into the market to cover their short positions oil traders said one japanese refiner came into the market to but cargoes of may dubai which sent prices up on mideast sours with dubai trading up to dlrs after trading yeterray as low as dlrs and then spilled over into the north sea crude oil market traders said that there have been persistent rumors today that japanese buyers are looking to pick up cargoes of brent for japan and european trade sources indidate rumors of vessels being fixed to make such shipments north sea brent today rose over dlrs with trades reported as high as dlrs up one dlr opec members denials that they are producing over their quotas sparked moves to cover short postitions indonesian oil minister subroto said today that opec production was below the mln bpd quota agreed to last december but he gave no details on opec production against claims it was more at least one mln bpd above that level the production probably is about their quota level and largely because saudi arabia will not discount and canot sell its oil as a result margoshes said analysts have mixed opinions about the extent of the current rally some believe prices can continue to rise if saudi arabia and opec hold steady in a refusal to discount but others said that despite the rally today there were still several fundamental factors including demand which could cut the rally short marion stewart an indepedent petroleum economist said slow growth in the economies of the u s and oecd would keep demand for oil slack and he now estimates that demand to rise about pct over reuter 
pancanadian to sell north sea properties unit to whitehall for cash 
api says distillate stocks off mln bbls gasoline off crude up 
pancanadian to sell british interests pancanadian petroleum ltd said it agreed to sell its working interest in its north sea properties and its british unit canadian pacific oil and gas of canada ltd to whitehall petroleum ltd a private british company pancanadian pct owned by canadian pacific ltd cp said it would receive mln british pounds cash mln canadian dlrs at closing expected in two to three months it said the deal is subject to approval by regulators and its partners in the properties which consist of exploration wells it will also retain a royalty interest in the properties reuter 
api says distillate gas stocks off in week distillate fuel stocks held in primary storage fell by mln barrels in the week ended feb to mln barrels from mln the previous week the american petroleum institute api said in its weekly statistical bulletin the oil industry trade group said gasoline stocks fell barrels to mln barrels from a revised mln while crude oil stocks rose barrels to mln from a revised mln it said residual fuel stocks fell barrels to mln from mln barrels api said refinery runs in the week fell to mln barrels per day from a revised mln and refinery use of operating capacity was pct off from a revised pct crude oil imports in the week fell to mln bpd from a revised mln api added reuter 
u s wine exports rose per cent last year exports of american wine rose per cent last year to a total of million gallons the wine institute said the san francisco based promotional group said per cent of the exported wine was from california and the top three markets were canada japan and britain japan which edged out britain as the leading importer of american wines in continued in second place canadian imports rose per cent to million gallons japan per cent to million gallons and britain per cent to gallons a spokesman for the institute said the declining value of the dollar and strong promotional efforts on the part of the california wine industry contributed significantly to the increased shipments the wine exports were valued at mln dlrs up from mln dlrs the previous year reuter 
u s senate panel could consider trade measure the u s senate agriculture committee may take up a bill tomorrow that would strengthen the activities of u s agricultural trade teams in selected developing countries committee staff said the measure sponsored by committee chairman patrick leahy d vt and sen john melcher d mont would establish trade teams of between six and nine persons drawn from federal agencies and private voluntary organizations staff said the trade missions would seek to generate interest in the u s government s food donation and commercial programs pl section export credit and export enhancement and upon return be required to advocate extension of concessional or commercial benefits to interested countries the trade teams would be made up of representatives of the u s agriculture department state department the agency for international development and private voluntary organizations such as u s wheat associates the bill would require teams within six months to visit seven countries mexico philippines indonesia india bangladesh senegal and nigeria within one year after passage of the measure another eight countries would have to be visited peru kenya the dominican republic costa rica malaysia venezuela tunisia and morocco other countries could be added to the list senate staff members said the bill still in the drafting stages had broad support and was expected to be approved by the committee tomorrow reuter 
saudi success seen in curbing opec production saudi arabia will succeed in pressuring other members of the organization of petroleum exporting countries to stay within their production quotas said morgan stanley group managing director john wellemeyer wellemeyer speaking to reporters at an offshore oil engineering conference also said he expected opec nations to attempt to hold prices under dlrs a barrel for several years to keep industrial demand for residual fuel oil strong over the next few weeks i think you ll see a concerted effort by the saudis to get production down wellemeyer said the saudis are committed to that price level of dlrs a barrel and are willing to make it happen again he said in recent weeks oil prices fell to the to dlrs a barrel level on market reports of some ope members producing above their quota pushing total opec production to mln barrels per day but prices rebounded today with april u s crude prices up about one dlr to over dlrs a barrel on a belief saudi arabia is attempting to curb opec output wellemeyer said that sharp declines in u s oil production could push demand for opec oil above mln barrels per day as early as and up to mln barrels per day by although the projected increases in demand for opec oil should strengthen world prices wellemeyer said he believed the organization would hold its official price below dlrs a barrel for some time to prevent residual fuel users from switching to natural gas supplies the interfuel swing market accounts for about eight mln barrels a day or pct of the world demand for oil reuter 
u k money market given mln stg late help the bank of england said it had provided the money market with late assistance of around mln stg this brings the bank total help so far today to some mln stg and compares with its latest forecast of a mln stg shortage in the system today reuter 
spain to launch export drive spain unveils a billion peseta plan this month aimed at boosting exports to reach european community levels director general of the infe export institute apolonio ruiz ligero said the target is to raise exports to pct of gross domestic product over the next four years compared to pct now he said this is the minimum prevailing level in the ec and there is no reason why we should lag behind countries like italy which have a similar productive structure he said the plan calls for providing soft loans tax cuts and other fiscal benefits to exporters and raising spain s presence in international trade fairs consumer goods such as fashion and wine as well as traditional industrial exports will be promoted ruiz ligero said infe would double its annual budget to billion pesetas to finance the four year plan while the government s development aid fund fad would provide a special billion peseta grant the plan calls for boosting exports by five to six pct in real terms this year after a pct decline last year ruiz ligero attributed this drop to a lack of demand in developing countries and a rally in domestic consumer demand which rose six pct last year after pct in he added that pct of spain s exports went to organisation for economic cooperation and development oecd countries the ec accounts for pct of the market and exports to the community rose seven pct last year the government plans to concentrate efforts on western europe and the u s the problem is convincing businessmen that exports are vital to survival in the context of ec competition he said he said spanish businessmen traditionally turned to the domestic market to satisfy rises in consumer demand while turning their backs on foreign markets they have to realise their share of the home market is going to shrink with growing deregulation he said foreign companies are taking up positions in the domestic economy and it is it vital to secure a market share abroad reuter 
baldrige concerned about korean taiwan deficits secretary of commerce malcolm baldrige expressed concern about the continuing u s trade deficits with south korea and taiwan and said that without an adjustment in exchange rates there is little likelihood of improvement speaking to the president s export council an industry advisory group baldrige said the trade deficit issue was under discussion with those countries i feel that unless we see an exchange rate adjustment we probably won t be able to see much of a change in the large surplus that taiwan in particular has with us he said in a wide ranging discussion on u s trade matters baldrige also repeated u s concern about an attempted takeover by japan s fujitsu company of fairchild computer he said that the japanese were resisting allowing u s companies into the giant computer business while at the same time attempting to acquire control of a u s company that does major computer business in the u s market lastly baldrige said that the united states was hopeful that it could complete a free market agreement with canada by the autumn but said major issues including acid rain remained unresolved reuter 
sun raises crude oil postings one dlr across board wti now dlrs bbl 
ec appoints new trade chief the european community commission today appointed its chief spokesman hugo paemen as its top official in charge of multilateral trade negotiations a commission spokesman said paemen a belgian official who had previously been chief aide to former external affairs commissioner etienne davignon has been in his post since january the spokesman said paemen will continue as chief spokesman until the retirement on may of paul luyten who is now in charge of ec departments handling negotiations in the world trade body gatt the oecd and other forums reuter 
energy california oil production drilling for oil in california is likely to continue at last year s sharply reduced levels despite recent gains in crude oil prices industry analysts said because much of the crude oil in california fields is thick heavy and expensive to extract oil prices would have to increase to near s levels before any significant recovery is seen in drilling they said companies will probably only drill their best prospects said john curti an analyst with birr wilson securities inc few new wells now are being drilled only rigs about one quarter of the total available were drilling for oil onshore in california last week compared to about last year said bill bolster of munger oil information services which tracks california drilling activity it s in the dregs right now said bolster of the state s drilling activity current prices are not enough to justify increased drilling said ed malmgreen of the california independent producers association while an organization of petroleum exporting countries pact to curb production boosted oil prices early this year prices eventually fell prices for california s marker grade line blend have slumped about pct in the last month to dlrs from a high of about dlrs more than half of california s oil comes from stripper wells those producing less than barrels a day and that much of that oil costs between and dlrs a barrel to extract malmgreen said it s not unusual for a stripper well to cost dlrs malmgreen said many stripper wells along the southern california coast produce eight times as much water as crude oil and inland wells frequently require the use of steam injection to spur extraction of the thick heavy oil he said the outlook for future production in california is clouded by a lack of exploratory drilling now analysts said in the heart of california s oil patch kern county which produces about two thirds of the state s oil exploratory drilling has slowed to a crawl only exploratory wells were drilled in kern county in compared to in according to david mitchell of the state energy commission so far this year only five exploratory wells have been drilled i don t think they ll even get to what they did last year mitchell said no pickup in exploratory drilling is likely for the rest of the decade mitchell said along with the fall in drilling has come a decrease in the number of producing wells and overall production between february and october of the number of producing oil wells in california fell pct to from more than said bill guerard of the california energy commission in line with that decrease california s crude oil output fell about pct last year due to low oil prices and is expected to remain at that lower level analysts said between february and october california s crude oil production slipped from an all time high of mln barrels per day to mln bpd guerard said total estimated crude oil production in california for was mln bbls compared with mln bbls in and mln bbl in according to the california department of conservation production in will probably hold around levels guerard said reuter 
s korean trade surplus with u s seen falling south korea s record billion dlrs trade surplus with the u s is bound to diminish as the country switches purchases from japan in favor of u s companies trade minister woong bae rha said he rejected suggestions the korean won is undervalued and denied any plans for a drastic and sudden revaluation rha is heading a trade mission to u s cities last year south korea ran a billion dlr trade surplus including a record billion surplus with the u s and a billion dlr deficit with japan rha told reuters in an interview the current trade mission is looking for billion dlrs in purchases from u s companies about a quarter of which represents transferred purchases from japanese sources rha said the items being sought by the current mission are mainly chemicals machinery and parts he said south korea is the fourth largest importer of u s agricultural products the current mission is not involved in that area but there are plans to buy substantial amounts of cotton from the u s he noted his country is clearly not as open as the american market nor is it reasonable to expect that it should be considering south korea has a billion dlr foreign debt and spends six pct of its gross national product on defense reuter 
gatt council defers decision on semiconductors the ruling gatt council deferred a decision on whether to set up a dispute panel on the basis of a european community complaint against the u s japanese agreement on exports of computer semiconductors david woods spokesman of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt told a news briefing that the main parties would continue bilateral talks this was in the hope of resolving the row before the next council meeting on april the five year accord signed in july aims to protect the u s market from dumping of low price japanese microchips officially known as semiconductors the e c complained the accord breached gatt trade rules by allowing tokyo to monitor prices allowing it to set minimum prices for japanese chips sold in third countries the nation community also charged the agreement gave u s producers preferential access to the japanese market woods said many nations hong kong canada switzerland singapore sweden malaysia and nigeria had supported the ec complaint during the heated council debate japan s delegate minoru endo and u s ambassador michael samuels replied in the debate that the e c charges were unfounded but they were willing to continue bilateral talks reuter 
gatt sets up dispute panel on canadian herring the ruling gatt council set up a formal dispute panel to examine a u s complaint that a canadian law prohibiting export of unprocessed herring and salmon was discriminatory david wood official spokesman of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt told a news briefing the decision was taken after bilateral consultations failed to resolve the row u s ambassador michael samuels charged during the council debate that canada was trying to preserve domestic jobs by insisting that herring and salmon be processed at home robert white canada s deputy chief of delegation replied the law was in line with gatt rules and was for conservations reasons but he agreed to setting up the dispute panel reuter 
iranian oil minister due in algeria on friday iranian oil minister gholamreza aqazadeh is expected here on friday for talks with his algerian counterpart belkacem nabi the official algerian news agency aps said today aqazadeh who will be accompanied by a large delegation will have talks on bilateral relations in the field of energy and exchange views with algerian officials on the current world energy situation it said reuter 
u k oil industry said not permanently damaged the u k offshore oil industry has suffered from last year s collapse in oil prices but should not sustain any permament damage minister of state for energy alick buchanan smith said the drilling diving and supply vessels sectors had been most affected buchanan snith told the house of commons energy committee he noted however that oil companies were still spending six mln stg a day to maintain north sea production he added that a report by the manpower services committee which said jobs were lost in the industry in should be seen in the context of a total workforce of prices of north sea brent grade crude dipped to a low of dlrs a barrel last july from a peak of over dlrs the previous november they recovered to around dlrs a barrel after last december s opec meeting and brent traded today around dlrs buchanan smith said the u k has no intention of adopting opec style quotas noting that britian is an oil consuming as well as an oil producing nation reuter 
texas oil regulator calls for state tax breaks texas railroad commissioner james nugent saying that the ailing oilpatch cannot wait for congress to act today urged texas state lawmakers to adopt incentives to find new oil reserves and to exempt severance taxes on oil produced from stripper wells nugent said in a speech to the texas house of representatives that the state must take the initiative in molding u s energy policy and finding new ways to assist troubled oil producers his proposal to revitalize texas oil industry would exempt stripper wells that produce barrels of oil or less each day from the state s pct severance tax he said that the majority of texas oil wells fall within the stripper well category and a price swing of two to three dlrs a barrel can be crucial in determining if the well remains in production nugent also called for state lawmakers to exempt new wildcat wells from the state severance tax for up to five years as a financial incentive to explore for new oil reserves secondary and tertiary oil production expensive methods of production that inject water or gas into the ground to recover oil should also be exempted from the severance tax nugent said his plan would exempt existing secondary and tertiary wells that produce at a rate of less than three barrels a day for three years or until the price of oil reaches a barrel we ve been sitting back and waiting on two federal administrations to develop a coherent energy policy for the nation to follow i say we have waited long enough nugent said in other words let s tell washington to either lead follow or get out of the way nugent said that the financial losses to the state treasury by exempting marginal oil production from state severance taxes would be more than made up by stimulating new business for the oil supply and service industry reuter 
murphy raises crude oil posted prices one dlr bbl wti to dlrs today 
british aide criticizes u s protectionism a senior british official said that protectionist bills being considered by congress could trigger retaliation by the european community eec and threaten the global trading system paul channon secretary for trade and industry said if congress passed legislation to curb textile imports which would hit ec shipments as well as shipments from major asian textile producers the community would have to retaliate his comments echoed those made yesterday by belgian trade minister herman de croo who said if the bill passed the community would retaliate by imposing taxes on u s exports channon made his remarks at a news conference after two days of talks with reagan administration officials and members of congress de croo was also in washington for trade talks channon said there was a greater protectionism sentiment in congress since his visit here last year as congress and the administration tried to find ways to reduce the u s trade deficit which last year hit a record billion dlrs channon also called for greater ec u s cooperation to force japan to open its markets to foreign goods channon said japan s trade surplus is causing everyone problems its surplus with the united states last year was billion dlrs and with ec nations billion dlrs the more united pressure there could be the better he said channon also called for increased u s ec cooperation to avoid trade disputes he said the two sides narrowly avoided a confrontation earlier this year over lost grains sales when spain and portugal joined the community and its liberal imports regulations were tightened to conform to ec standards but if both sides drew back from the brink that time he said it does not mean that they would do so on another occasion channon added that there is increasing reesentment in europe over the u s tactic of negotiating under the pressure of unilaterally imposed deadlines he said other potential conflicts are already in sight alleged european government subsidies of airbus aircraft and taxes on fats and oils and the commuity and the united states must therefore learn to manage their relations better he said another bill to let the united states retaliate against a nation if that nation s market was not open to u s goods would bypass the trade pact gatt general agreeeement on tariffs and trade as an arbiter of trade practices he said foreign trade law should be judged by gatt and not by the united states adding if the trade law is to be interpreted by the united states and not by the gatt what is to happen to the rest of us reuter 
yeutter plans trade trip to china this summer u s trade representative clayton yeutter said he plans a july trip to china to discuss trade issues including china s admission to the general agreements on tariffs and trade yeutter told a congressional hearing it was possible china could be a member of gatt before the end of the year they are making major moves to becoming a full scale member of the world economy he told the house appropriations subcommittee which oversees his agency s budget depending on how the negotiations go on the terms of china s gatt membership yeutter said he could put the final touches on the u s part of the agreement during his trip the admission of china to gatt which is the multinational group of nations which negotiates international rules on trade would offer both potential export markets and potential competition for u s industries he said that has a lot of potential as well as risks for u s business yeutter said i think china will develop into a fine market for us he added reuter 
yeutter concerned about u s export picture u s trade representative clayton yeutter said he expects imports to fall soon but he was concerned about the lack of improvement in u s exports given the dollar s decline in the last months i m convinced we re about to see an improvement on the import side i m more concerned about the export side he told a house appropriations subcommittee part of the blame goes on other countries which have not generated the economic growth to increase demand for u s goods and part to some u s companies which are not generating competitive exports he said reuter 
house trade bill drafting postponed the house ways and means trade subcommittee postponed until next week its opening session to start drafting major changes to u s trade laws a committee aide said the subcommittee had not yet completed the preparatory work to start writing the legislation the aide said reuter 
southland slc unit raises crude prices southland corp s citgo petrleum corp said it raised the contract price it will pay for all grades of crude oil by one dlr a barrel effective today the increase brings citgo s posted price for west texas intermediate to dlrs a bbl west texas sour is also now priced at dlrs bbl and light louisiana south is posted at dlrs bbl on february citgo lowered its crude postings cts to dlrs per bbl and cut wti one dlr to reuter 
opec sticking firm on official prices subroto opec countries are all sticking firmly to official crude oil prices but the volatility of spot prices is likely to continue into the third quarter indonesian minister of mines and energy subroto told reuters subroto attending a pacific energy cooperation conference blamed recent rapid spot price changes on unbalanced supply and demand if we stick to the production limitation the third quarter will be in better balance he said the market is in a period of transition while the impact of opec s december agreement to cut output and fix prices at an average dlrs a barrel is worked through asked whether opec members of the gulf cooperation council gcc had any concrete proposals to help qatar sell its crude oil in the face of strong resistance to its official prices subroto said apparently they have taken care of that they the gcc meet very often among themselves i think they ll help each other he said subroto said that as he was not a member of opec s price differentials committee he did not know why the meeting had been postponed from its scheduled april date maybe they find it is better not to have the meeting because everyone is sticking to official prices he said reuter 
belgolux trade moves into surplus in the belgo luxembourg economic union bleu moved into a narrow trade surplus of billion francs in after a billion franc deficit in figures given by a spokesman for the national statistics institute show he said imports fell last year to billion francs from in while exports were also lower at billion francs against billion in december the bleu had an billion franc trade surplus after a billion franc surplus in november and a billion franc surplus in december reuter 
papua new guinea plans resources investment agency the papua new guinea government will establish a public corporation to invest in resources projects minerals and energy minister john kaputin said we intend to provide a means through which less privileged individuals can become part owners and beneficiaries from the development of mining and petroleum projects he told parliament existing policy allowing the state up to pct equity in major mining projects and pct in oil and gas projects would be maintained he said the planned agency could take over the state s equity in current developments kaputin said papua new guinea was experiencing a boom with exploration companies spending about mln kina annually on about mining and petroleum projects the government is determined to ensure that papua new guinean ownership in minerals and petroleum projects increases in an orderly way he said kaputin did not say when the corporation would be established or exactly what form it would take but said the government would study whether it should be directly involved in exploration or development reuter 
nigerian currency firms at latest auction the nigerian naira firmed pct against the dollar after banks were disqualified from bidding at today s weekly foreign exchange auction the central bank said the naira finished at to the dollar against last week only mln dlrs of the mln dlrs on offer was sold with all bidding banks successfully obtaining hard currency the effective rate including a central bank levy for transactions in the coming week was against last week the failure to sell the whole allocation was due to the central bank s unprecedented disqualification of banks as punishment for inadequate documentation in previous transactions banks are required to submit proof that their bids are based on valid commercial transactions and the central bank has complained in the past that many are failing to produce the right paperwork within the specified time reuter 
u s tells japan to do more to cut trade surplus u s undersecretary of state for economic affairs allen wallis said he had urged japan to do much more to reduce its large trade surplus with the united states our central message to japan this week was that while we have made progress in some areas much needs to be done he told a press conference after three days of talks what we need is a resolution of trade issues we need visible efforts to restructure the economy to encourage more imports and we need greater domestic led growth forecasting sluggish economic growth in japan this year wallis urged tokyo to stimulate domestic demand to help reduce its trade surplus which hit a record billion dlrs in he named several areas of particular concern to washington computer microchips supercomputers kansai airport agricultural products and car telephones he warned that the u s japan agreement governing trade in semiconductors was in jeopardy despite the pact japanese producers are still dumping microchips in foreign markets other than the united states while u s penetration of the japanese market has not increased he said reuter 
economic spotlight polish sanctions poland says u s sanctions have cost its economy billion dlrs and has made clear it wants washington to take a lead in repairing the damage after lifting remaining restrictions two weeks ago polish officials are unable to provide a precise breakdown of the figure saying it takes into account a number of hypothetical losses some of them are too sophisticated to convert into financial terms one banking source said but western economic experts say the effect of sanctions is impossible to calculate they say it is blurred by the poor performance of poland s economy and dismiss the billion dlr figure as illusory sanctions have provided a very useful excuse for under achieving they did have a bad effect yes but they only contributed to largely internal economic problems one said the u s imposed the measures and withdrew most favoured nation mfn trading status from poland in in retaliation for suppression of the solidarity free trade union under martial law the estimated cost to the polish economy was originally devised several years ago by the institute of national economy an offshoot of the central planning commission according to one western envoy an expert on polish economic affairs it extrapolated information on growth trends in trade with the united states as well as increases in credits from western commercial and government lenders but the calculations were based on a time when trade was booming and credits still flowed freely he said dismissing the estimate as a theoretical projection based on a high point which has no real scientific evaluation a foreign trade ministry official said polish exports to the u s in the late s averaged around mln dlrs annually and had fallen by half since the sanctions were imposed imports have suffered slumping from around mln dlrs to mln as credits ran out poland has a dwindling trade surplus with the west last year it was one billion dlrs against a targeted billion official figures show acknowledging that sanctions have lost poland important u s markets including agricultural equipment textiles chemicals and some foodstuffs western economists say credits dried up for economic not political reasons poland is accusing the west of letting economic relations deteriorate for political reasons said one expert it s an illusion based on a misunderstanding of western economy there s a limit to how much you can go on giving someone who has no hope of repaying it another said adding that poland had benefited from a global phenomenon of easy credits in the s which were no longer today s reality describing the billion dlr assessment as nebulous one diplomat said it also included losses of hypothetical orders and setbacks to polish research through the curbing of scientific links and exchanges western officials say the lifting of sanctions and new mfn status will have little impact on poland which has a hard currency debt of billion dlrs and lacks the means to modernise its industry mfn doesn t really mean anything only that poland will not be treated worse than other countries it will be difficult to regain access to the u s market because different forces are in play now said one western envoy he said polish products were not competitive and their quality was too low trade wars and possible protectionist measures amongst the u s japan and europe would also hamper poland s efforts to regain entry deputy foreign trade minister janusz kaczurba recognised this fact recently kaczurba told the official pap news agency recently making up our lost position will take a long time and be uncommonly difficult and in certain cases impossible in a period of two to three years it will be possible to increase the level of exports by only about mln dlrs while poland is unlikely to seek compensation it says it has a moral right to assistance from the u s which it says imposed the sanctions illegally but a western economist said the argument that u s sanctions were a unilateral torpedoing of the polish economy won t cut any ice the americans will just reply that the poles acted immorally in crushing solidarity nevertheless polish national bank head wladyslaw baka in talks in washington last week with the international monetary fund imf and world bank made it clear that poland was looking for a lead from the united states he was quoted by pap as saying that poland would meet its financial obligations to the united states but not in a short time and not without a cooperative stand on the part of its foreign economic partners he stressed that the u s had a particular opportunity to play a part in the cooperative policy of poland s partners interested in the settlement of polish debt putting it more sharply one senior banking official blamed washington for obstructing talks with the world bank imf and paris club of western creditor governments in recent years and said it should now play a more positive role as a major superpower the united states can influence international organisations he said citing recent meetings aimed at stabilising currencies as an example of the extent to which western nations were prepared to cooperate reuter 
egyptian central bank dollar rate unchanged egypt s central bank today set the dollar rate for commercial banks for march at dollars unchanged from the previous rate reuter 
early march opec output seen well below ceiling opec crude oil output in the first few days of march was running at about mln bpd down from a mln bpd average for february and well below the mln bpd ceiling the group adopted in december a reuter survey shows the figures were polled by reuters correspondents from oil traders industry executives and analysts in europe the middle east africa latin america and asia they back recent statements by opec ministers that the group is producing within its ceiling to support the return to a fixed price system which came into effect last month opec output for the whole of february was about bpd above the ceiling largely because of overproduction by the united arab emirates and kuwait the figures show the uae together with the much smaller producer ecuador was also producing above quota in the first days of march the survey reveals but such overproduction was compensated for by a sharp fall in saudi arabian output together with iran s inability to export as much as its quota allows iraq rejected its opec quota of mln bpd and produced mln bpd in february and early march the figures showed saudi output excluding movements into stocks fell to mln bpd in early march from mln bpd in february against a mln bpd quota the saudi figures include a bpd share of neutral zone production kuwait which has consistently denied quota violations was estimated to be pumping mln bpd in february and in early march both figures including bpd as its share of neutral zone output against its bpd quota reports of customer resistance to fixed prices set by some opec states were reflected in output from qatar and nigeria both substantially under quota in february and early march qatar s february output was bpd and this fell to bpd in early march compared with its bpd quota industry sources say japanese buyers are resisting qatar s prices and gulf arab oil states have pledged to make up for any shortfall in sales which a fellow gulf state suffers nigeria s early march output was about one mln bpd down from mln bpd in february and its quota of mln bpd industry sources say nigeria s customers believe its bonny grades are overpriced compared with compatible brent crudes from the u k north sea country by country production figures are as follows in mln bpd country current february quota algeria ecuador gabon indonesia iran iraq kuwait libya nigeria qatar saudi arabia uae venezuela total reuter reuter 
diamond shamrock raises crude posted prices one dlr effective march wti now dlrs bbl 
yeutter puts currency burden on taiwan korea responsibility for the appreciation of the taiwan dollar and the south korean won lies soley with those countries said u s trade representative clayton yeutter speaking to the asia society yeutter said that it is in those countries own long term interest to raise the value of their currencies against the dollar yeutter was responding to a question about what the u s could do to encourage appreciation of those currencies against the dollar in order to reduce the large u s trade deficits with taiwain and korea an undervalued currency will help those countries exports in the short term but in the long run they have to be concerned about how they are perceived in the international business community yeutter said for taiwan yeutter said that with its per capita trade surplus with the u s much larger than that of japan s and with huge foreign exchange reserves it was difficult to defend the high import tarrifs and other barriers that prevail in that country he also said that the south korean won should begin to move to reflect underlying economic fundamentals otherwise in two or three years time korea will be in the same situation that prevails in taiwan turning to the u s deficit with japan of more than billion dlrs yeutter said that this situation was not sustainable something must give soon if not there is a great threat of u s legislative action to counteract that trend yeutter said reuter 
diamond shamrock dia raises crude oil postings diamond shamrock said it raised its posted prices for all grades of crude oil one dlr a barrel effective yesterday the one dlr increase brings west texas intermediate wti the u s benchmark crude to dlrs a bbl the company said diamond shamrock joined sun co coastal citgo and murphy oil in raising crude oil posted prices one dlr a barrel yesterday reuter 
opec says february output under ceiling opec output in february was well below the mln bpd ceiling it set in december and all countries are strictly adhering to their quotas the opec news agency opecna quoted an opec secretariat official as saying the official was quoted as saying that lower output was the result of member countries firm determination to defend the organisation s official price of dlrs per barrel and to refrain from selling any quantity below that price the unnamed official was further quoted as saying that no opec meeting was foreseen before the next biannual opec session planned to start on june the official gave no figure for february output the statement said only that the reduction in total supplies namely actual exports of crude oil and products plus local deliveries in member countries is even more pronounced as those supplies fell very noticeably during that month no matter what the pressure on member countries by lifters to align the official selling price to the ongoing market price member countries are without exception strictly adhering to the official selling price in spite of the financial hardship this may entail the statement said the very recent improvement in the price structure is an indicator of such determination by the organization to stick to the official selling price the statement said free spot market prices rose from around dlrs a barrel in early december last year to near opec s official levels towards the end of the year after the opec pact there has been oil industry speculation that opec might have to hold an extraordinrary meeting prior to its scheduled june session to discuss reports of overproduction by some states and strains on the differential matrix which prices each opec crude according to its quality and distance from main markets the official said in the statement that no such emergency session was scheduled because of member countries firm determination to defend the price system agreed in december opec s differential committee was to have met in vienna starting april but this session has been postponed with no new date set according to an official of the united arab emirates which chairs the seven state body other members are algeria kuwait saudi arabia libya nigeria and qatar reuter 
marathon raises crude posted prices cts a bbl effective today wti at dlrs bbl 
report due on oil imports and national security a presidential commission that has been studying oil imports including their effect on national security is to to make its report soon the white house said spokesman marlin fitzwater said the panel set up last october to examine u s oil import needs would make its report soon probably within the next few weeks he said national security adviser frank carlucci will wait until that report is in and then see if there is any special action needed to be taken in the national security area to implement it reuter 
egyptian crude oil output down on non opec egypt produced mln tonnes about mln barrels of crude in against mln tonnes about mln barrels in according to official figures released today by the egyptian general petroleum corp egpc officials say egypt can produce up to one mln bpd per day but production was cut when world prices plunged last year in an attempt to help opec stabilize the world market egypt cut its production target of bpd to its current output of bpd egypt which exports a third of its output currently sells its top suez and ras bahar blends for dlrs a barrel reuter 
yeutter says u s budget deficit reduction key to trade deficit solution 
opec president says output well below ceiling opec conference president rilwanu lukman said the group was producing well below the mln bpd ceiling it set in december partly because liftings had been delayed or postponed by customers unwilling to pay fixed opec prices lukman during a brief visit to london on his way home from jamaica told reuters in a telephone interview that in february opec had underproduced partly because members were strictly abiding by production quotas and partly because they were resisting the temptation to sell at discounts to official prices of around dlrs a barrel we are determined to stand firm by the december accord he said i have spoken to every other opec minister and they are committed to making the accord work he said lukman gave no specific figures for february output he said the opec secretariat in vienna was finalizing these figures told of a reuters survey published today which estimated that opec output so far this week was below mln bpd he said that could well be correct opec s news agency opecna today issued a statement saying group output was well below its ceiling in february but it gave no figures but one source close to opec indicated that february output may have been between and mln bpd the reuter survey estimated opec february output at around mln bpd opec agreed in december to cut output by pct to mln bpd and to return to fixed prices starting february lukman said qatar nigeria saudi arabia and iran had all produced in february below their opec quotas iraq which said it would not honour its mln bpd quota under the december pact had produced less than had been anticipated he said lukman said that some industry reports may be correct that in february nigeria propuced bpd below its mln bpd quota saudi arabia bpd less than its mln allocation and qatar to pct under its bpd quota he said that sweet crudes such as those produced by his country were coming under price pressure because they were currently officially priced above sweet north sea grades and the united states west texas intermediate wti crude however he said opec in december had anticipated that demand would be slack at this time of year for seasonal reasons and expected the market to firm in two to three weeks we have to be patient for two or three weeks the market is now firming on actual fundamentals he said adding that he expected it to go up and up even beyond official prices after early april this is when traditionally there is more demand for gasoline rich crudes such as nigeria s the opec president said producers such as kuwait venezuela and indonesia were having less problems with output than producers like his own country because they exported oil products also some of venezuela s heavy grades were outside the opec pricing system he said lukman said that if refiner buyers now refusing to lift some opec oil at official prices instead used their own stocks and ran them down to dangerous levels they would eventually have to buy opec oil when they realise it is not a free for all in the market they will realise they should buy now instead of paying more later on he said lukman asked about industry reports that nigeria was being pressured by equity producers for better terms said it was important to know that terms with them were negotiable flexible and under constant review not only when the market seemed weak he said that so far no meeting of the seven nation ministerial differentials committee had been scheduled and that such a meeting now twice postponed was not a high priority for opec at the moment at this time we have to get our priorities right he said the most important thing now is ensuring that the accord is working not dealing with a differential of cents between grades but if any opec member raised concerns or objections over the differential system a meeting would be called he said reuter 
consensus builds for world agricultural reform top u s and european farm trade and government representatives called for a sweeping reform of world agriculture to redress a critical demand and supply imbalance speakers at a conference on world agricultural markets here demonstrated a growing u s european consensus on the need for an urgent and collective overhaul of world farm trade and production it is vital that we work together to bring more freedom and harmony into the world agricultural trade if not the disruptions in markets may grow even more severe the walls of protection climb higher and the level of possible retaliation become more harmful u s department of agriculture deputy administrator william bailey said bailey said his attendance at the two day meeting which ends tomorrow demonstrated the u s recognises the need to adjust its policies to the changing market environment the need for urgent reforms is justified by the imbalance and tensions of the world economy the secretary general of the organisation for economic cooperation and development jean claude paye said and the forum for such a reform is the general agreement on tariffs and trade he noted paye stressed the need for a progressive and joint reduction of agricultural subsidies as well as social measures to help farmers in unprofitable areas another possible solution would be to stop supporting farm prices allowing them to be fixed by supply and demand and instead help farmers through income support and adjustment aids proposed james howard executive vice president of cargill usa one of the world s largest cereal houses franz josef feiter agricultural adviser to west german chancellor helmut kohl agreed the european community must take greater heed of market constraints in fixing farm prices however differentiated policy treatment is required to take account of large disparities in the situation around the ec he said agriculture is an efficient sector of the european economy and will remain so if the right policy is pursued within the community he said reuter 
confidence in opec firms u s energy futures renewed confidence in opec s ability to limit production helped u s energy futures settle above yesterday s closing prices according to analysts they also said the heating oil contract found additional support from a short covering rally on the close april crude closed cts higher to dlrs april heating oil was cts higher to cts a gallon most traders expected follow through profit taking from yesterday but the market found suport from bullish reports that opec is producing within its quota said simon greenshields a vice president with morgan stanley and co inc news today including opec president rilwanu lukman statement that opec february production did not exceed its official quota of mln barrels per day helped bouy prices traders said a reuter survey found opec production in early march was mln bpd in addition to short covering heating oil found support from traders buying it against sales of gasoline and crude as well as from expectations for continued drawdowns in stocks as refiners shut down for maintenance traders said unleaded gasoline for april finished cent higher to cts a gallon reuter 
france yugoslavia commission to boost trade france and yugoslavia agreed to set up a joint economic commission as part of efforts to promote commercial links and industrial cooperation between the two countries the french finance ministry said the commission to be composed of businessmen was agreed during talks between foreign trade minister michel noir and yugoslavian minister without portfolio egon padovan a ministry statement said both sides had agreed on the need to boost trade links in keeping with an accord signed last year calling for a pct rise in commercial exchanges between the two countries over the next six years french trade with yugoslavia has grown little over the past two years reuter 
greece repeats it can decide on aegean drilling greece replying to a warning from turkey that it will stop athens from seeking oil in the aegean sea repeated today that it has an exclusive right to decide where or when to drill in the area a government spokesman said in a statement that if ankara believed greece was contravening international law it could bring the issue before the courts the spokesman was responding to a statement by turkish foreign ministry spokesman yalim eralp that ankara would take action to stop greece s oil activities beyond its territorial waters as they were a violation of the berne accord reuter 
iea says opec february crude output mln bpd opec produced an average mln barrels per day bpd of crude oil in february down from mln the previous month and an overall mln bpd in fourth quarter the international energy agency said a few opec countries last month exceeded the production quotas set at their last conference in december but liftings were reduced from several countries it said in its latest monthly oil market report these cutbacks were due in part to buyer resistance to fixed prices introduced from february particularly for fixed volumes over an extended period it gave this breakdown for opec crude output in mln bpd fourth qtr january february saudi arabia iran iraq uae kuwait neutral zone qatar nigeria libya fourth qtr january february algeria gabon venezuela ecuador indonesia total the iea said while saudi production stayed below its quota of mln bpd actual sales might exceed output due to norbec stock disposals contracts for saudi crude have been signed but it is understood they have much leeway in required liftings the report said the reduction in iraqi air attacks on iranian export facilities allowed iran s output to reach mln bpd in january but buyer resistance to fixed prices apparently cut february production it said iraqi exports are about mln bpd through the turkish pipeline mln by truck through jordan and mln via the saudi pipeline to yanbu internal consumption is some mln bpd the iea estimated total non communist world oil supply in february at mln bpd down from mln in january and mln in the fourth quarter the february world supply figure is made up of mln bpd opec crude production mln bpd opec natural gas liquids ngls mln bpd oecd crude and ngls mln bpd other developing countries crude and ngls net trade of mln bpd with centrally planned economies mln bpd of non conventional crudes such as tar sands and oil from coal and mln bpd from processiing gains within the oecd preliminary norwegian data show record mln bpd output in january with lower production expected in february in accordance with government curtailments of approximately bpd announced in support of opec reuter 
pemex lowers february far east crude oil prices the mexican state oil company petroleos mexicanos pemex said its far east customers would be charged dlrs per barrel for isthmus crude in february and dlrs for the heavier maya pemex said this was cts less than january isthmus and cts less than january maya far east customers primarily japan which buys an average barrels per day of which is isthmus pay retroactively while european and u s clients are charged per delivery reuter 
u k money market deficit revised to mln stg the bank of england said it had revised its estimate of the shortage in the money market back to its initial forecast of mln stg at midsession the central bank changed the shortfall to mln and provided assistance worth mln stg through bank bill purchases in bands one and two at established dealing rates reuter 
permian pbt raises crude prices permian corp said that effective march it raised its posted prices for crude oil cts a barrel the raise brought its posted prices for west texas intermediate up by cts to dlrs a barrel west texas sour was also raised by cts to dlrs a barrel a permian spokesman said that the south louisiana sweet posted prices was also raised cts a barrel to dlrs reuter 
baker says g pact just a start treasury secretary james baker said the agreement among industrial nations in paris last month is only a start in washington s drive to intensify economic cooperation among leading countries in a speech to the national newspaper association baker said the six steps beginning with the plaza agreement and culminating in the paris accord are only a start he added we see our role as a steward of a process in which we sit down with our industrial allies to find ways to promote more balanced international growth the paris agreements called trade surplus countries to strengthen their growth and on the u s to reduce its budget deficit under such circumstances the countries agreed their currencies were within ranges broadly consistent with economic fundamentals baker also said he still sees ominous signs of pressure for protectionist trade legislation and this pressure for protectionism is coming from new areas of society but he also said he believed a coalition was forming that supported free trade reuter 
treasury s baker forecasts reduction in japanese trade surplus this year 
baker sees lower japanese trade surplus u s treasury secretary james baker said the japanese trade surplus would begin to decline this year he told the national newspaper association you re going to see a reduction in the japanese trade surplus some of it this year but he said the reduction would be due principally to the exchange rate shifts since the plaza agreement and these shifts would take a long time to work their way through the system reuter 
ecuador says suspends oil exports due earthquake ecuador today suspended its crude oil exports indefinitely due to an earthquake last night that damaged pumping and crude transport installations an energy and mines ministry statement said it said the state oil firm corporacion estatal petrolera ecuatoriana cepe notified foreign customers that it was declaring force majeure on its crude exports due to the tremor ecuador s opec oil output quota is barrels per day bpd a senior energy ministry official said that one pumping station at el salado on ecuador s main pipeline was damaged he also said an metre section of the pipeline attached to the bridge over the aguarico river collapsed the pumping station was about km from the reventador volcano near the epicentre of the quake which ecuadorean seismologists said registered six on the point international mercalli scale the aguarico bridge was also close to the volcano he said the quake struck northern ecaudor and southern colombia according to ecuadorean officials no injuries were reported reuter 
liffe february volumes down but eurodollars up total futures and options turnover on the london international financial futures exchange liffe fell slightly during february although daily average eurodollar volume set a new record liffe said today total futures and options turnover last month was contracts down from january s but sharply above the comparative february figure of lots it said eurodollar turnover during february was lots against january s and the year ago figure of the daily average was a record lots up four pct from the previous record set in march february trading encompassed a new daily record of contracts on the th of the month exceeding the previous record of which had been set on february liffe said ft se index futures volume was sharply higher during february with contracts trading against january s and the year ago level of open interest also set new records last month in eurodollars at contracts in ft se at and in short sterling interest rate futures at lots key futures volumes as detailed by liffe were feb jan feb long gilt eurodollar short sterling t bond ft se currencies short gilt key options volumes as detailed by liffe were feb jan feb long gilt eurodollar t bond sterling ft se total options long gilt t bond and ft se index options were not trading in february reuter 
colombian oil exports not affected by quake colombian oil installations were not damaged by an earthquake which shook ecuador and southern colombia last night and there are no plans to suspend exports a spokesman for the state run oil company ecopetrol said he said no damage was reported unlike in ecuador where indefinite force majeure was declared on crude exports colombia currently produces about barrels per day bpd of crude exports in january totalled bpd the quake which in colombia measured between and seven on the point international mercalli scale caused panic among residents but no injuries were reported reuter 
crude oil prices up as stocks output fall u s crude oil prices rose above dlrs a barrel this week and industry analysts said the price could rise another dollar as inventories fall opec is keeping its production down and in the cash market there is tight supply of crude with short transportation time to major refining centers said daniel mckinley oil analyst with smith barney harris upham and co that could send prices cts to a dollar higher he added the u s benchmark crude west texas intermediate rose to dlrs a barrel today a rise of dlrs this week the rally in oil prices this week came after prices fell in february more than two dlrs from its high of dlrs a barrel oil traders were pulling prices down on the assumption that oil stocks were building and opec was producing well above its mln bpd quota but now both of those assumptions have come under question mckinley said yesterday the international energy agency in its monthly report said that oil stocks in the oecd area or in industrialized nations were drawn down by mln bpd during the first quarter of this year iea estimates that the draw in oil stocks during the first quarter of this year will come largely from oil companies whose inventory levels by april one will be an estimated mln tonnes or about days consumption industry analysts also said the estimate of a mln bpd draw in stocks made by shell chairman peter holmes yesterday fed speculation that other major companies were destocking traders said the destocking has come about as a result of a so called buyers strike which kept refiners from buying officially priced opec oil in an effort to get the organization to offer discounts to the official price this struggle between the companies and opec is the ultimate game of chicken but it will be resolved relatively soon i would imagine by about the middle of the month march the general trading manager of an international oil company told reuters in a telephone interview for its part opec has moved to win this game by cutting excess supplies from the market by a reduction of its own output traders said a reuter survey estimates opec output to be mln bpd this week also an earthquake in ecuador yesterday led it to suspend oil exports indefintiely and force majeure its shipments this will reduce short haul availabilities by about bpd almost immediately and the longer the suspension continues the larger the draw in stocks will be for companies expecting it to be there mckinley said international oil traders said that other short haul crudes such as north sea brent were also scarce because asian refiners bought the oil after absorbing a lot of the readily available mideast crudes earlier this week if this pattern continues then oil companies will bid up the price of oil as they purchase for their refineries trading managers at several companies told reuters but there were skeptics who said they wondered how long opec can retain its unity if buyer resistance continues stephen hanke chief economist at friedburg commodity management said opec production was lower because of the saudi cut to mln bpd and this could spell trouble if it gives other members an incentive to exceed their quotas he added the saudis will be picking up the tab for other members who produce over their quota and the drain on the saudis will continue forcing them to cut output maybe as low as mln bpd to support the dlrs average price he added there are also signs of some opec crudes being sold in the spot market at below opec official prices traders said oil traders said nigerian brass river sold for delivery into the u s gulf at a price related to north sea brent which traded this week at dlrs far below the official price of dlrs for the similar quality bonny light iranian oil is also surfacing in the u s gulf and the far east at reported discounts to its dlrs official price there is a lot of oil priced on government to government deals which are below official prices and this is probably being resold one international trader said reuter 
iranian oil minister arrives in algeria iranian oil minister gholamreza aqazadeh arrived in algiers at the head of a large delegation for talks on stabilizing oil prices the official news agency aps said in a brief arrival statement he said iran and algeria were engaged in continuous and stronger cooperation on the world petroleum market and had deployed considerable efforts to stablise petroleum prices he was greeted on arrival by belkacem nabi the algerian minister of energy chemical and petro chemical industries reuter 
nicaragua romania paraguay lose trade rights president reagan formally ended preferential duty free trade treatment for exports from nicaragua romania and paraguay under the generalized system of preferences gsp he took the action after determining that the three countries are not taking steps to give their workers internationally recognized rights u s trade representative clayton yeutter had announced the intended action on january the united states conducts no trade with nicaragua and very little trade with romania and paraguay reuter 
iraq turkey oil pipeline cut by landslide turkey oil pipeline near the southern town of adana after it was cut by a landslide the hurriyet and anatolian news agencies said little oil was lost in the landslide friday night because taps on the one mln bpd line were switched off after the accident they said the pipeline which carries oil for turkey and other customers from iraq s kirkuk field to the yumurtalik terminal on the turkish mediterranean coast is iraq s main oil outlet reuter 
ecuador to export no oil for four months official the suspension of ecuador s crude oil shipments after an earthquake cut an oil pipeline will last at least four months a senior energy ministry official said the official said ecuador could resume exports after repairing a km section of the km pipeline which links jungle oil fields at lago agrio to balao on the pacific coast it would take about mln u s dlrs to repair the pipeline the official who did not want to be named told reuters ecuador had enough oil to meet domestic demand for about days and would have to import crude to supplement stocks the earthquake last thursday night registered six on the point international mercalli scale the damage to the pipeline was a severe economic blow to ecuador where oil accounts for up to two thirds of total exports and as much as pct of government revenues financially pressed ecuador a member of the organisation of petroleum exporting countries opec was recently pumping about barrels per day bpd of crude about bpd above the output quota assigned by the cartel another energy ministry spokesman said last year it exported an average of bpd according to the central bank however ecuador might build an emergency km pipeline costing to mln dlrs to hook up with a colombian pipeline the first official said he estimated it could take about days to build ecuador squeezed by the slide in world oil prices in had only mln dlrs in net international reserves at the end of january about equal to one month s imports it suspended interest payments in january on billion dlrs owed to about private foreign banks the country s total foreign debt is billion dlrs the eighth largest in latin america in caracas president jaime lusinchi said venezuela would loan five mln barrels of crude to ecuador over the next three months to make up for losses from damage to the pipeline ecuador asked for the loan to guarantee domestic supplies and would ship an equivalent volume back to venezuela in repayment in may lusinchi said a commission headed by venezuelan investment fund minister hector hurtado and including representatives from the interior and defence ministries and the state oil company petroleos de venezuela will travel to ecuador tuesday to evaluate and co ordinate an emergency relief program he said reuter 
bangladesh trade deficit narrows in october the bangladesh trade deficit narrowed to billion taka in october from billion in september and billion in october the central bank said imports dropped to billion taka in october from billion in september and billion in october exports totalled billion taka in october as against billion in september and billion in october reuter 
asian dollar assets exceed billion dlrs the asian dollar market continued to expand in december with total assets and liabilities rising to billion u s dlrs from billion in november and billion in december the monetary authority of singapore said it said the increase came mainly from interbank activity with interbank lending rising to billion dlrs in december from billion in november and billion in december interbank deposits increased to billion dlrs against billion and billion respectively loans to non bank customers increased in december to billion dlrs from billion in november and billion in december deposits by non bank customers rose to billion dlrs against billion and billion reuter 
iran selling discounted crude japan traders say japanese customers have bought nearly six mln barrels of crude oil from the national iranian oil company nioc at a substantial discount to the official price and western traders have received even larger discounts japanese traders involved in the transactions told reuters nioc has sold its crude for march shipment to japanese customers with different formulas one company has bought barrels of iranian heavy at a straight discount of cents below the official price the sources said other deals have been fixed with prices linked to oman and dubai spot prices less a discount they said iran s discounted sales have not however managed to reverse the bullish tone in the crude oil and products spot markets oil traders said market sentiment is being influenced more by the colder weather in europe and reports that opec s february output was below its self imposed quota of mln barrels per day firmer gas oil on the london futures and more bullish sentiment on the new york mercantile exchange futures market are supporting spot price levels they said another japanese trading house has paid the official price but through a processing arrangement will effectively receive a discount the sources said it s just disguised cheating one japanese trader said the sources said only one japanese company had paid the official price for iranian oil it has purchased mln barrels of iranian heavy for april shipment for refining in singapore they said about nine vlccs of iranian crude have been sold to western traders with pricing based pct on the official price and pct on spot prices or with part of the price related to processing arrangements 
u k money market shortage forecast at mln stg the bank of england said it forecast a shortage of around mln stg in the money market today among the factors affecting liquidity it said bills maturing in official hands and the treasury bill take up would drain around billion stg while below target bankers balances would take out a further mln against this a fall in the note circulation would add mln stg and the net effect of exchequer transactions would be an inflow of some mln stg the bank added reuter 
amoco reports south china sea oil find the u s amoco petroleum corp has reported an offshore oil find at its pearl river basin concession in the south china sea the new china news agency said it said the liu hua a well produced at around barrels per day at a depth of metres the news agency said amoco plans to drill a second well in the area this year but gave no further details reuter 
ecuador to export no oil for months official the suspension of ecuador s crude oil shipments after an earthquake cut an oil pipeline will last at least four months a senior energy ministry official said the official said ecuador could resume exports after repairing a km section of the km pipeline which links jungle oil fields at lago agrio to balao on the pacific coast it would take about mln u s dlrs to repair the pipeline the official who did not want to be named told reuters ecuador had enough oil to meet domestic demand for about days and would have to import crude to supplement stocks the earthquake last thursday night registered six on the point international mercalli scale the damage to the pipeline was a severe economic blow to ecuador where oil accounts for up to two thirds of total exports and as much as pct of government revenues financially pressed ecuador a member of the organisation of petroleum exporting countries opec was recently pumping about barrels per day bpd of crude about bpd above the output quota assigned by the cartel another energy ministry spokesman said last year it exported an average of bpd according to the central bank however ecuador might build an emergency km pipeline costing to mln dlrs to hook up with a colombian pipeline the first official said he estimated it could take about days to build ecuador squeezed by the slide in world oil prices in had only mln dlrs in net international reserves at the end of january about equal to one month s imports it suspended interest payments in january on billion dlrs owed to about private foreign banks the country s total foreign debt is billion dlrs the eighth largest in latin america in caracas president jaime lusinchi said venezuela would loan five mln barrels of crude to ecuador over the next three months to make up for losses from damage to the pipeline ecuador asked for the loan to guarantee domestic supplies and would ship an equivalent volume back to venezuela in repayment in may lusinchi said a commission headed by venezuelan investment fund minister hector hurtado and including representatives from the interior and defence ministries and the state oil company petroleos de venezuela will travel to ecuador tuesday to evaluate and co ordinate an emergency relief program he said reuter 
u k money market given late help worth mln stg the bank of england said it provided the market with unspecified late assistance worth mln stg it has given the market total assistance of mln stg today compared with a liquidity shortage it estimated at a revised mln stg reuter 
study says u s canada pact would spur economies a free trade pact between the united states and canada could spur the economies of both sides substantially according to a study released by the institute for international economics the study by paul wonnacott said a successful conclusion to the free trade talks now under way could raise canada s gross national product by more than five pct and expand u s export s by about seven pct he said the pact could resolve the knotty issue of government subsidies end curbs on trade in services and investments and pave the way for new global talks under the general agreement on tariffs and trade the united states and canada the world s two biggest trading partners with cross border shipments of about billion dlrs a year opened free trade talks last june they are aiming for a pact by next october wonnacott an economics professor at the univerity of maryland said an agreement should include elimination of tariffs between the two countries phased in over a five to year period equal access to federal government procurement in the two countries replacing current buy america and buy canada provisions with a buy north america provision fewer restrictions in trade in services chiefly finance and transportation a commitment not to screen foreign investments in favor domestic producers a commission to resolve bilateral trade disputes wonnacott said that to resolve the subsidy problem the two sides should permit export subsidies of exports of up to or pct without imposing coutervailing duties the limit on subsidies is now pct he proposed that any attempt to impose new duties to offset subsidies should go first a special disputes commission for resolution at an early stage wonnacott said bilateral free trade would contribute to the efficiency of the north american economies and to their competitiveness in facing overseas producers he said it would it would open u s markets to canadian goods and enable them to benefit from the economies of mass production benefits to the united states would be fewer than those to canada proportionately he said because of the already large u s gross national product wonnacott said also that a u s canada pact in such areas as export subsidies and the creation of a dispute commission could set an example for the current attempt by gatt to write new and more liberal global trading regulations reuter 
petro canada to drill two terra nova test wells petro canada canada s state owned oil company said it will drill two delineation wells this summer at the terra nova oil field offshore newfoundland evaluation of test results and preliminary engineering work should put petro canada in a position to propose a development plan for the terra nova field in the company said depending on time required for regulatory approvals construction could begin in with first oil production as early as petro canada said we have a high degree of confidence that the western portion of the terra nova field contains at least mln cubic meters of recoverable oil or more than mln barrels and that we could produce it economicly using a floating production system petro canada said the terra nova field lying kilometers east of st john s and kilometers southeast of hibernia field was discovered by petro canada in we ve had encouraging results from the eastern portion of the field and we hope this summer s drilling will prove up additional reserves there the company said petro canada believes terra nova field is a good commercial prospect and the company wants to move some of those resources towards development so it can start generating a return on investments petro canada said petro canada which will act as operator of the two wells has a pct interest in the western portion of graven block of the terra nova field and a pct interest in the field s east flank block a company spokesman said later other field participants include canterra energy ltd mobil oil canada ltd gulf canada resources inc icg resources ltd trillium exploration corp and general partnership parex petro canada estimates reserves in the terra nova field s graven block of between mln and mln barrels of oil company spokesman bob foulkes said from petro canada s calgary office combined reserves for graven block and the field s east flank block are estimated between mln and mln barrels he added petro canada expects to spend about mln canadian dlrs to bring the field to production by about and the development budget could double if the company builds a production system combining both blocks in the field he said petro canada estimates the terra nova field graven block would produce between and barrels average daily production with a production system that would have maximum capacity of bpd company spokesman foulkes said in answer to a query the company estimates a production system combining both graven and east flank blocks in the terra nova field could produce about bpd average daily production he said reuter 
amoco s first south china sea exploratory well flows barrels of oil daily 
fed sets billion dlr customer repurchase fed says 
shell canada said it raised crude prices by canadian cts a barrel today 
shell canada shc raised crude oil postings shell canada a wholly owned subsidiary of the royal dutch shell group rd said that it raised crude oil prices by about canadian cts a barrel today the increase riased its posted price for light sweet crude oil to dlrs a barrel from its march one level light sour crudes were raised to dlrs a barrel the company said reuter 
koreans to buy billion dlrs in u s goods south korean foreign trade minister rah woon bae said his country s firms have agreed to buy billion dlrs worth of u s goods during his two week buying trip to the united states rah said most of the purchases represented shifts from japanese firms to u s firms as part of south korea s effort to reduce its seven billion dlr trade surplus with the united states south korea has a five billion dlr trade deficit with japan reuter 
fitzwater says reagan strongly against tax hike white house spokesman marlin fitzwater said president reagan s record in opposing tax hikes is long and strong and not about to change we re opposed to tax increases we will fight tax increases we will deal with it politically in every forum possible said fitzwater when questioned about whether there was any change in the administration s position fitzwater said reagan s strong feelings against a tax hike included opposition to an oil import fee the president s position is that he is opposed to it he said reuter 
bank of zambia pays out foreign currency arrears the bank of zambia has paid out foreign exchange arrears from three auctions conducted last year a bank spokesman said we have now cleared three auctions and are left with only four worth eight mln dlrs the spokesman said without specifying the amount paid out the bank had not paid foreign exchange to private firms since it suspended the weekly auctions on january it has said the auctions were suspended because it planned to introduce a modified system after talks with the world bank and the international monetary fund president kenneth kaunda announced last month that the auction would be retained for allocating foreign exchange to approved private sector bidders but would not be used to determine the kwacha s exchange rate last week he said the auction had run into trouble because of a shortage of foreign exchange the government has fixed the exchange rate at nine kwacha per dollar effectively revaluing the kwacha by pct reuter 
canadian oil companies raise crude prices petro canada the state owned oil company said it raised the contract price it will pay for crude oil canadian cts a barrel effective march six petro canada s posted price for the benchmark light sweet grade edmonton swann hills at api gravity now stands at canadian dlrs bbl their light sour grade is posted at canadian dlrs bbl earlier today shell canada shc said it raised its crude postings about canadian cts bbl bringing edmonton light sweet to canadian dlrs bbl and the light sour crude to canadian dlrs bbl imperial oil imo a a pct owned subsidiary of exxon corp said that effective march five it also raised its light sweet crude posting to canadian dlrs bbl reuter 
ecuador quake to cut oil revenues mln dlrs up to people were feared dead and more than people left homeless by thursday s earthquake which will cost ecuador close to mln dlrs in lost petroleum revenues authorities said they estimated the cost of repairing a damaged oil pipeline at mln dlrs the magnitude of the damages caused by the earthquake is gigantic president leon febres cordero said after inspecting the damages in napo the hardest hit jungle province miles from here the quake damaged km of an oil pipeline forcing this opec nation to suspend crude exports for four months president febres cordero said in a statement issued today by the presidential press office the country would lose an estimated mln dlrs in crude exports until the pipeline was repaired the president said it would cost mln dlrs to repair the pipelline which carries oil from jungle oil fields over the andes to balao a pacific ocean port crude traditionally accounts for up to two thirds of ecuador s exports the quake triggered landslides swelling the aguarico river which burst it banks carrying away homes and huts in napo province health minister jorge brancho told reuters we fear that up to people died in napo though there is no way of now knowing the exact figure because many people have disappeared he said other estimates ranged as high as dead so far corpses have been recovered bracho said information minister marco lara told reporters the number of dead and injured is not known because we do not know how many people lived in the homes hit by the landslides bracho said at least were left homeless in the cayambe district reuter 
usx x unit raises some crude postings marathon petroleum company a subsidiary of usx corp x said it raised the contract price it pays for three grades of crude oil effective march illinois sweet and indiana sweet are both being raised cts a barrel to dlrs bbl and the southern michigan grade is being raised cts bbl also to dlrs a bbl the west texas intermediate grade was unchanged reuter 
conoco raises crude oil prices up to one dlr barrel wti at dlrs 
api president sees options to avert oil crisis american petroleum institute president charles dibona said no options should be rejected to combat growing u s dependence on foreign oil no action should be ruled out import fees or quotas floor prices tax incentives or other alternatives while a national dialogue on the issue continues dibona said at a paper institute conference in new york today dibona said there is no unanimity within the industry on how to stimulate energy production but there is consensus on removing several government policies that hinder investments in new prospects dibona said the windfall profit tax should be abolished immediately and current proposals for increased environmental regulations on acid rain and waste disposal should be not adopted he also suggested that the arctic national wildlife refuge in alaska should be opened up for leasing to oil companies dibona said this is a battle the industry cannot afford to lose if the nation is to continue to benefit from alaskan oil dibona said since u s oil production has fallen while consumption rose and that has raised dependence on imported oil particularly from opec dibona said reuter 
dupont dd unit raises crude oil prices conoco inc a subsidiary of dupont corp said it was increasing its contract prices for crude oil between cts and one dlr a barrel effective today conoco said the increase brings its price for the u s benchmark crude west texas intermediate to dlrs a barrel up one dlr south louisiana sweet also up one dlr is now dlrs west texas sour was up cts to dlrs a barrel conoco was the last company to raise prices following a series of increases initiated last week by sun co sun which reversed the posted price cuts made at the end of february reuter 
pickens sees continued slump in working rigs t boone pickens the texas oilman and financier said he believes the heady days the oil service industry had in the early s when over oil rigs were once reported operating will not return in his lifetime pickens told reuters he expects the rig count to drop to below before recovering he added that oil prices will eventually rise to dlrs then to dlrs after currently some oil rigs are operating in the u s down sharply after oil prices slipped from dlrs in late to around dlrs in prices are now around dlrs the highest number of working rigs was in december the rigs won t go back to work until the price of oil gets above dlrs he said adding that while he expects to see dlr a barrel oil he does not expect to see rigs operating in his lifetime pickens is pickens who is currently touring the country promoting his autobiography boone said he does not believe the u s should impose an oil import fee in order to stimulate the domestic oil industry reuter 
miyazawa says paris accord helping stabilise rates finance minister kiichi miyazawa said the paris currency accord has contributed to the stability of exchange rates miyazawa told a press conference the agreement reached last month in paris by six major industrial nations to cooperate in bringing about currency stability has prevented speculative concerns from being active in money centres the decision in paris is being understood by the market he said the yen dollar exchange rate has been moving in a narrow range since finance ministers of britain canada france japan the u s and west germany reached the accord reuter 
australian reserve bank in buying intervention the reserve bank said at local time it was offering to buy short dated government securities in the short term money market the bank s action followed its purchase of short dated government stock and six day repurchase agreements earlier in the session money market traders said the move was aimed at easing cash market interest rates which had risen on demand for funds to meet paye tax and treasury note settlement commitments reuter 
soviet economist sees few gains in u s trade there is little chance soviet exports to the united states will rise in but moscow s current trade reforms should result in more trade in manufactured goods in future a soviet economist said sergey frolov chief economist at amtorg trading corp an agent for soviet trade organisations and industries told a u s ussr business meeting the soviet union produces few items that western nations want but reforms including upgrading the quality of goods and allowing joint ventures with foreign firms will encourage modest export gains in future frolov said the soviet union exported mln dlrs worth of goods to the united states in and imported billion dlrs worth he gave no trade forecast for but he said that even if all obstacles were removed total trade between the two countries would remain between two and three billion dlrs a year the post detente embargoes have taught the ussr to limit its trading with the u s he said reuter 
china allows nationwide foreign exchange saving people throughout china can now open foreign exchange accounts at the bank of china the official shenzhen economic zone daily said previously only residents of guangdong and fujian provinces could do this the paper also said the minimum for opening a fixed deposit account had been cut to yuan equivalent from yuan the minimum for a current account is yuan equivalent the paper said depositors could now withdraw all or part of their account subject to a branch s reserves instead of only a fixed amount as previously the paper said deposits may now be opened in french francs as well as the already available u s dollar hong kong dollar sterling yen and marks bank of china branches in hainan island also accept deposits in singapore dollars and those in wenzhou zhejiang province accept deposits in dutch guilders the paper said it gave no further details reuter 
economic spotlight japan pushes its chipmakers japanese microchip makers are being strong armed into compliance with a u s japan pact on semiconductors halting predatory pricing and opening japan s market to foreign chips industry analysts said but doubts remain over whether the ministry of international trade and industry miti which is pressuring the firms can successfully battle market forces and whether the u s industry is geared up to take advantage of any breathing space they said u s threats to scrap the agreement signed last september have pushed miti to try harder to get recalcitrant japanese chipmakers to abide by the pact the analysts said miti has been moving hot and heavy throughout the industry to get things done said bache securities japan associate vice president peter wolffe last month miti told chipmakers to cut production for the january to march period by pct to help dry up inexpensive chips that have escaped from japan to grey markets not subject to the pact s price controls the ministry also asked electronics firms to provide distributors with certificates designating them as authorised exporters in an effort to close loopholes through which grey marketeers sneak chips out of japan market analysts said u s trade negotiators here last week said the pact was in jeopardy because of continued dumping in non american markets and little sign of increased foreign sales in japan but major japanese firms appear to have agreed to the production cuts several analysts said last week nec corp said it would cut production in line with miti s request nec has been the most aggressive in resisting miti s demands said david keller analyst at james capel and co once nec cuts production it means they all have still pressures remain to keep production high japanese firms need high output to cut unit prices for u s sales that the commerce department assigns them under the pact the best way to lower cost is to produce more said salomon brothers asia ltd analyst carole ryavec preparations for a possible upturn in demand could also spur higher production next quarter merrill lynch analyst matt aizawa said grey marketeers may also be able to outfox any new restrictions some industry officials said it s like tax avoidance schemes said steve donovan head of mmi japan k k as soon as you close one route another opens miti s pressure has annoyed some makers who had earlier shrugged off miti guidance it s getting to be like communism said one but analysts said output cuts could help by making it easier to increase prices as planned on april and forcing firms to stop extending market share by selling at a loss they re going to have to start running their businesses like businesses bache s wolffe said miti has also been conducting a highly public campaign urging chip users to buy foreign made chips but u s industry officials said response has been mixed at best there has been some change but it s not across the board said one u s spokesman the companies have a varying degree of urgency the ultimate impact of all these efforts by miti on the troubled u s industry remains in doubt analysts added pressure to cut production of kilobit dram dynamic random access memory chips could merely speed the transition to one megabit chips where japan now leads analysts said whether u s firms are able to stage a comeback in memory chips or interested in doing so also remains unclear they said analysts are watching with interest the fate of a new u s consortium which hopes to challenge japan by developing the most advanced technology for microchip manufacturing even in the thorny area of access much depends on u s commitment as well as on japanese openness some said the sia u s semiconductor industry association doesn t even have an office here a source close to the industry said you could question just how committed they are in addition some industry analysts question the effectiveness of a bilateral agreement that leaves out third country chipmakers such as those in south korea south korea s gaining market share said one analyst they re the real winners from the agreement reuter 
iranian oil minister in uae talks iranian oil minister gholamreza aqazadeh is in the united arab emirates uae to discuss oil prices and the general market situation iranian officials accompanying him said he will meet uae president sheikh zaid bin sultan al nahayan and oil minister mana said al oteiba aqazadeh arrived last night after a brief stopover in riyadh where he met saudi arabia s oil minister hisham nazir the official saudi press agency quoted him as saying his talks at riyadh with nazir had been constructive and good aqazadeh said organisation of petroleum exporting countries opec members were agreed on holding production stable and he reiterated the importance of maintaining oil prices opec members agreed in december to limit production to mln barrels per day for the first half of this year and on a benchmark price of dlrs a barrel from february aqazadeh also visted opec members gabon algeria and libya the iranian news agency irna quoted him as saying before leaving tripoli that opec should do everything possible to make oil prices permanently stable reuter 
saudi arabia s king fahd wants stable oil prices king fahd said today saudi arabia wants oil price stability and he called on non opec producers to avoid harmful competition with the nation group his plea in an interview with reuters and the television news agency visnews came ahead of a state visit he will make to britain later this month king fahd was asked whether saudi arabia would be prepared to reduce its oil output below its opec quota of mln barrels per day bpd to defend the dlr benchmark price agreed to by opec last december the king replied saudi arabia doesn t decide prices by itself but certainly desires price stability non opec countries must help us in a framework of common interest so that there is no type of competition which could prove harmful to everyone he said asked if he saw the dlr per barrel benchmark as a first step towards higher world oil prices king fahd said it was not for saudi arabia but for all opec countries to determine such issues iran and algeria have already called for a higher benchmark in recent weeks the dlr level has come under pressure due partly to quota violations by some opec members king fahd said saudi arabia the world s largest oil exporter was adhering to decisions made at opec s december conference which set a mln bpd output ceiling for the first half of a major non opec producer britain has so far resisted the group s pleas to curb its north sea oil output the king also urged the world community to help the palestinians return to their homeland and called for a peaceful end to the iran iraq war the year old war could not be resolved on the battlefield he said reuter 
hungary to devalue forint against western units hungary is to devalue the forint by an average of eight pct against western currencies the official news agency mti said mti did not say when the devaluation would become effective but it expected new rates to be announced later today hungary devalued the forint by a similar amount last september western bankers say the forint is more realistically valued than currencies of hungary s comecon allies reuter 
u k money market shortage forecast at mln stg the bank of england said it forecast a liquidity shortage of around mln stg in the market today among the main factors the bank said bills maturing in official hands and the treasury bill take up would drain mln stg from the system while below target bankers balances and a rise in the note circulation would take out mln and mln stg respectively partially offsetting these exchequer transactions would add around mln stg the bank added reuter 
belgian central bank buys currency to repay debt the belgian national bank bought foreign currencies against francs on the open market in the week ended march a bank spokesman said in line with central bank policy he declined to give any details of the amount bought the foreign currency purchased was used by the treasury to repay foreign debt and did not affect the bank s foreign exchange reserves they slipped mln francs to billion mostly due to sales of dollars for special drawing rights the spokesman said reuter 
oil firms cut indonesian exploration spending foreign oil companies will spend less on exploration in indonesia this year than last budgeting billion dlrs for calendar against spending of billion dlrs the state oil company pertamina said actual spending last year fell short of the budgeted figure of billion dlrs as oil companies slashed expenditure because of the crash in world oil prices jumardi jukardi head of pertamina s coordinating board for foreign contractors said foreign companies will drill exploration wells and development wells this year against and last year reuter 
indonesia oil contract negotiations end this month negotiations between indonesia s state oil company pertamina and foreign oil contractors on extension of the standard year production sharing contract will be concluded by the end of this month a pertamina official said jumardi jukardi head of pertamina s foreign contractors coordinating board gave no details about the outcome of the talks but pertamina president abdul rachman ramly has said priority will be given to extending contracts for companies whose exploration and production contracts expire within the next seven to years jukardi speaking to indonesian reporters said the negotiations would determine whether the production sharing split in favour of pertamina would be adhered to or altered in some cases as oil companies are asking for hardjoko seputro spokesman for the mines and energy ministry has said that president suharto has agreed in principle to extension of the standard year production sharing contract to reflect better current depressed conditions on the international oil market reuter 
german call money eases after liquidity injection call money eased to pct from yesterday following a net injection of billion marks at a rate of pct in fresh funds from this week s securities repurchase agreement dealers said but rates were expected to rise toward the end of the week a major tax payment period by banks on behalf of customers payments for the federal railways loan stock and repayments of mark liabilities incurred by foreign central banks with the bundesbank in the framework of the european monetary system ems are likely to significantly burden the system banks built up minimum reserves today ahead of the expected outflow the bundesbank credited banks with a gross billion marks but some billion left the system at the same time as an earlier securities repurchase pact matured dealers estimated the ems related outflow as high as six billion marks the bundesbank declined to comment but a spokesman said yesterday although the funds now due may be allowed to roll over the possibility that other central banks may choose to redeem them meant a net infusion was needed dealers forecast tax payments of and billion marks but much of it is expected to burden the system only next week banks minimum reserve holdings at the bundesbank totalled billion marks on monday averaging billion over the first nine days of march dealers said although the figure was well above an expected requirement of around billion marks the expected outflow of funds was so large that banks might find it difficult to meet the requirement toward the end of march no securities repurchase agreement is expiring next week but dealers said the bundesbank could offer fresh liquidity if conditions significantly tighten the bundesbank wants to keep rates around pct one dealer said reuter 
hungary to devalue forint against western units hungary is to devalue the forint by an average of eight pct against western currencies the official news agency mti said mti did not say when the devaluation would become effective but it expected new rates to be announced later today hungary devalued the forint by a similar amount last september western bankers say the forint is more realistically valued than currencies of hungary s comecon allies reuter 
bank of england does not intervene in money market the bank of england said it did not operate in the money market during the morning initially the bank forecast a liqudity shortage of some mln stg for the market today overnight interbank sterling traded at the pct level for most of the morning while period rates have eased on the strength of sterling dealers said at gmt sterling s trade weighted index was up at reuter 
soviet economist sees few gains in u s trade there is little chance soviet exports to the united states will rise in but moscow s current trade reforms should result in more trade in manufactured goods in future a soviet economist said sergey frolov chief economist at amtorg trading corp an agent for soviet trade organisations and industries told a u s ussr business meeting the soviet union produces few items that western nations want but reforms including upgrading the quality of goods and allowing joint ventures with foreign firms will encourage modest export gains in future frolov said the soviet union exported mln dlrs worth of goods to the united states in and imported billion dlrs worth he gave no trade forecast for but he said that even if all obstacles were removed total trade between the two countries would remain between two and three billion dlrs a year the post detente embargoes have taught the ussr to limit its trading with the u s he said reuter 
swiss sight deposits fall billion francs sight deposits of commercial banks at the swiss national bank fell billion swiss francs in the first days of march to billion the national bank said foreign exchange reserves rose billion francs to billion sight deposits are a major indicator of money market liquidity in switzerland the national bank said banks paid back billion francs of central bank credit taken out at the end of february for the end month liquidity requirement this drain was offset in part by new currency swaps which had the effect of increasing the national bank s foreign exchange holdings bank notes in circulation fell mln francs to billion and other deposits on call basically government funds rose billion to billion reuter 
ecuador crude oil exports stopped for five months ecuador needs mln dlrs to repair the damage to its oil export pipeline caused by last week s earthquake which will stop crude exports for five months energy and mines minister javier espinosa teran said espinosa said yesterday the pipeline which carries crude from jungle fields to the pacific ocean coast of balao would be repaired with the help of texaco inc tx n and a mexican and an argentine firm president leon febres cordero said two days ago that ecuador an opec member would have to suspend crude exports for four months due to the quake oil traditionally accounts for up to two thirds of ecuador s total exports and as much as pct of government revenues deputy energy minister fernando santos alvite said ecuador would have to import six to seven mln barrels of crude oil to meet its needs until the line was repaired the ecuadorean minister at the presidency patricio quevedo told reporters that venezuela will lend ecuador five mln barrels of crude which would repaid in kind after a day period he added the caracas based andean development corp had granted a loan of mln dlrs towards repairing the pipeline km of which had been damaged in the quake in quito foreign minister rafael garcia velasco yesterday summoned ambassadors from about countries to whom he issued appeal for emergency aid for the country only three countries the u s colombia and venezuela had offered assistance reuter 
talking point oil services turnaround seen the oil services industry is on the verge of a recovery because of rising crude prices oil industry analysts said the analysts who issued buy recommendations on some stocks said the recovery in oil services should begin in the second half of after drilling activity bottoms out in the first half and continue into the next decade people however cannot afford to wait for drilling to go up to start buying said sandi haber sweeney senior research analyst at sanford c bernstein and co inc among the recommended buys are schlumberger ltd slb halliburton co hal dresser industries di baker international bko and mcdermott international inc mdr which may be the target of a takeover by harold simmons a dallas based investor analysts said although major oil companies are increasing exploration and development overseas they expect the pickup in oil services will begin in the u s activity in the u s is so depressed it should move up faster said vishnu sharp of goldman sachs the number of active oil drilling rigs in the u s was last week compared with rigs one year ago huges tool co ht figures show the average number of working rigs in the u s for is projected at versus in according to ike kerridge vice president of stockholder relations at hughes tool the first significant pickup in drilling activity will occur in the second half of kerridge said overseas drilling activity is expected to follow a similar pattern kerridge said halliburton is the best value said jeffrey freedman vice president at smith barney harris and upham inc adding the company controls the greatest amount of liquidity of common stock market value is diversifed in non oil field businesess and has the lowest multiple of stock price to operating cash flow including debt schlumberger is freedman s second favorite oil service stock schlumberger is expected to continue to be the dominant technical leader in the industry freedman said schlumberger s management shift asset restructuring including a pending merger of fairchild semiconductor and its considerable cash horde sets the stage for the company to maximize its significant industry advantage and capitalize on the project upturn in exploration and development activity according to a report by george gaspar first vice president at robert w baird and co inc gaspar estimates earnings per share for schlumberger at cts for and one to dlrs in compared with cts in excluding a fourth quarter special charge of billion dlrs bernstein s sandi sweeney is recommending a group of oil service companies and said choosing among them is difficult her favorite is baker international which is involved in a possible merger with hughes tool co dresser industries will also benefit from the recovery but possibly not as much as other companies because it is not a pure service company sweeney said dresser is expected to improve profitability owing to cost reductions and streamlined operations including the sale and leaseback of its headquarters said swarup reuter 
opec reaffirms commitment to fixed prices ceiling opec has reaffirmed its commitment to fixed crude oil prices of around dlrs a barrel and an overall output ceiling of mln barrels per day bpd to defend prices its president rilwanu lukman said he told a news conference here after due consultation with my colleagues in opec i hereby wish to emphasize that nigeria and all member countries of opec remain determined to uphold the december agreement by adhering strictly to their various quotas and official selling prices lukman added no extraordinary opec conference was planned we are in a position to re confirm that despite misleading news in foreign media to the contrary opec member countries as a whole produced below their agreed quota in the month of february lukman who is nigerian oil minister said lukman put the overall opec output shortfall in february at bpd and said this was as a result of their firm determination to defend official selling prices of dlrs agreed upon last december in geneva the december agreement set an overall output ceiling for opec of mln bpd for first half and restored fixed prices as from february around a reference point of dlrs oil prices rallied immediately after the geneva accord but fell again last month on reports that opec was producing more than the agreed level the idea was to suggest that opec s agreement would not hold and this caused some customers to hold back purchases of opec oil and resort to destocking to meet their needs lukman said he said the bpd shortfall last february was based on the verified figure for out of opec s members adding that nigeria alone had a shortfall in production of bpd iraq disassociated itself from the december agreement while the production figures of ecuador and the united arab emirates needed to be verified lukman said if that is the price we have to pay to make the agreement succeed we are ready opec is not changing its price level of dlrs the group s president said he said the opec price differentials committee meeting formerly postponed to april had been put off indefinitely furthermore no extraordinary meeting of the conference is at the moment contemplated since most agreements reached in december are being adhered to he said asked if the committee did not need to meet soon to narrow the gaps in the prices of the various opec crudes fixed in relation to the dlr benchmark lukman replied we consider the defence of our prices much more crucial than differentials lukman said opec was aware that consumers had heavily drawn on stocks of both crude oil and refined products to levels well below this time last year and soon they would return to the market in search of crude we don t see that there is going to be any difficulty in maintaining the dlr price throughout the rest of the year lukman said the opec president praised non opec oil producers which he said had contributed to the group s efforts to stabilise prices but he criticised britain for maintaining its long held view not to do anything to help the market we are quite confident however that in the long term with two thirds of the world s reserves in opec hands the future is ours we will use that advantage responsibly he said lukman described the disruption in ecuador s output following an earthquake as tragic but refused to say if the south american country would be allowed a higher output quota when it recovered from the disaster reuter 
u k money market given mln stg assistance the bank of england said it gave the money market assistance worth mln stg this afternoon buying bank bills at the rates established on monday the bank bought mln stg of band one bills at pct and mln stg of band two paper at pct this is the first time that it has intervened today the bank has revised its estimate of the liquidity shortage in the market down to mln stg from mln initially reuter 
triton energy oil affiliate in canadian find triton energy corp said its pct owned canadian worldwide energy ltd affiliate s lasmo et al tableland w well in saskatchewan flowed barrels of degree gravity oil through a inch choke from depths of to feet and barrels of oil per day through a inch choke from depths of to feet triton said because of the well s status as a deep exploratory well production qualifies for a five year royalty holiday under the saskatchewan drilling incentive products it said the well s initial production is expected to be restricted to an allowable level of about barrels a day although it is capable of sustaining much higher rates the company said london and scottish marine oil plc owns a pct interest in the well and its spacing unit canadian worldwide pct saskatchewan oil and gas corp pct interprovincial pipeline ltd s home oil co ltd pct and scurry rainbow oil ltd srb pct triton said royal dutch shell group s rd sc shell canada ltd shc affiliate retains a convertible overriding interest in the well reuter 
ecuador deputy minister seeks oil aid in venezuela ecuador s deputy energy minister fernando santos alvite arrived here last night for talks on further venezuelan assistance to his country s oil industry following last week s earthquake officials said ecuador was obliged to suspend crude oil exports for an expected five months as a result of damage to miles of pipeline linking its jungle oil fields with the pacific port of balao oil normally accounts for pct of its exports fellow opec member venezuela has already agreed to lend ecuador five mln barrels of crude to be repaid in kind after days to help meet its domestic consumption needs the officials could neither confirm nor deny reports that venezuela will temporarily produce ecuador s entire opec quota set at barrels per day for first half all options are open at this moment in the context of cooperation on oil production a venezuelan energy and mines ministry source said discussions are also under way to arrive at a formula to compensate ecuador for the loss in oil export revenue while the pipeline is repaired officials said santos alvite last night met venezuelan energy and mines minister arturo hernandez grisanti and will today hold talks at technical level officials said industry sources said that among the options are for venezuela to produce ecuador s entire quota or for venezuela and non opec mexico to share it and for the latter to supply ecuador s far eastern clients but the ministry source said that no decision has yet been reached on the matter and that an announcement would be made in due course santos alvite said earlier in quito that ecuador would have to import six to seven mln barrels of crude oil to meet its needs until the line was repaired ecuador energy and mines minister javier espinosa teran said last night his country needs mln dlrs to repair the damage to the export pipeline caused by the earthquake reuter 
ecuador official seeks oil aid in venezuela ecuador s deputy energy minister fernando santos alvite arrived here last night for talks on further venezuelan assistance to his country s oil industry following last week s earthquake officials said ecuador was obliged to suspend crude oil exports for an expected five months as a result of damage to miles of pipeline linking its jungle oil fields with the pacific port of balao oil normally accounts for pct of its exports fellow opec member venezuela has already agreed to lend ecuador five mln barrels of crude to be repaid in kind after days to help meet its domestic consumption needs reuter 
u k money market given late help of mln stg the bank of england said it provided the money market with unspecified late assistance of around mln stg this brings its total assistance on the day to mln stg compared with a liquidity shortfall it estimated at a revised mln stg overnight interbank sterling was being offered at eight pct shortly after the bank s announcement reuter 
fed expected to add reserves the federal reserve is expected to intervene in the government securities market to add temporary reserves via customer or system repurchase agreements economists said most economists said the fed will inject reserves indirectly via customer repurchases but they added that the fed might opt for a direct injection of reserves via overnight system repurchases federal funds opened at pct and eased to pct in early trading funds averaged pct yesterday reuter 
fed sets two billion dlr customer repurchase fed says 
fed adds reserves via customer repurchases the federal reserve entered the u s government securities market to arrange two billion dlrs of customer repurchase agreements a fed spokesman said dealers said federal funds were trading at pct when the fed began its temporary and indirect supply of reserves to the banking system reuter 
ec concerned over u s textile import moves the european community ec expressed disquiet over protectionist moves in the united states to limit imports of textiles and said it would retaliate immediately if ec exports were hit a spokeswoman for the ec commission said ec external trade commissioner willy de clercq had written to his u s counterpart special u s trade representative clayton yeutter outlining the concerns of the nation community the draft legislation under consideration by congress would impose permanent quotas on products entering the u s and seek to limit any increase to a growth in the overall trade reuter 
jordan petrocanada agree oil exploration project a two year project to search for oil and gas in jordan was agreed in amman by jordan s natural resources authority nra and the canadian company petrocanada international assistance corporation pciac the mln dlr assistance agreement was signed by jordan s minister of energy hisham al khatib and pciac chairman peter m towe pciac is a canadian government corporation providing assistance to countries like jordan to reduce their dependence on oil imports towe said reuter 
south korea to keep trade surplus years south korean trade minister rha woong bae said his nation would maintain a trading surplus for three to five years as a way to cut its foreign debt he said in an interview with reuter that after a few years it was likely south korea would drop barriers to foreign goods and move toward a more balanced trade position he said the present trade surplus was vital if his nation was to reduce its billion dlr foreign debt rha said that was the first year south korea had a trade surplus billion dlrs against a deficit of mln dlrs rha made his remarks at the end of a two week trade mission here during which a team he led agreed to buy u s products valued at billion dlrs about mln dlrs of the purchases here were in goods of the type south korea normally bought from japan rha leaves today for ottawa for trade talks with canadian officials and businessmen asked if south korea would retaliate against u s goods if congress closed u s markets to its products he said at this moment we have no thought of retaliation south korea is a major exporter to the u s of textiles and apparel and electronic goods such as television sets video cassette records and personal computers its purchases from the united states include electronic testing equipment grains and cotton reuter 
south korea to maintain trade surplus years south korean trade minister rha woong bae said his nation would maintain a trading surplus for three to five years as a way to cut its foreign debt he said in an interview with reuters that after a few years it was likely south korea would drop barriers to foreign goods and move toward a more balanced trade position he said the present trade surplus was vital if his nation was to reduce its billion dlr foreign debt rha said that was the first year south korea had a trade surplus billion dlrs against a deficit of mln dlrs asked if south korea would drop its trade barriers once its foreign debt was substantially reduced he said yes i think so rha made his remarks at the end of a two week trade mission here during which a team he led agreed to buy u s products valued at billion dlrs about mln dlrs of the purchases are in goods of the type south korea normally bought from japan rha was to leave later today for ottawa for trade talks with canadian officials and businessmen he said in the interview the u s purchases were to reduce his country s billion dlr surplus with the united states and also to cut its billion dlr shortfall with japan rha said it was also due to a shift in exchange rates between the u s dollar and the yen that made it cheaper to buy u s goods than japanese goods he said south korea heavily relied on foreign trade and he hoped the leaders of major trading nations could find a way to resolve the growing trend toward protectionist legislation rha said i hope the leaders can get together to find a solution by making some mutually satisfactory concessions but he added the leaders seem hesitant to make concessions because of domestic political reasons speaking of his own country he said we have made a lot of concessions already he cited regulations permitting foreign investment in industrial firms allowing increased foreign banking activity and cracking down on piracy of intellectual property by strengthening protection of copyrights and patents rha said south korea had also lowered many of its tariffs asked if south korea would retaliate against u s goods if congress closed u s markets to its products he said at this moment we have no thought of retaliation south korea is a major exporter to the united states of textiles and apparel and electronic goods such as television sets video cassette records and personal computers its puchases from the united states include electronic testing equipment and grains and cotton the trade mission s purchases here included three boeing passenger planes for mln dlrs four mcdonnell douglas planes for mln dlrs and machinery worth mln dlrs reuter 
marathon to raise crude prices cts bbl tomorrow wti to dlrs 
eia says distillate stocks off mln gasoline off crude off mln 
eia says distillate gas stocks off in week distillate fuel stocks held in primary storage fell by mln barrels in the week ended march six to mln barrels the energy information administration eia said in its weekly petroleum status report the department of energy agency said gasoline stocks were off barrels in the week to mln barrels and refinery crude oil stocks fell mln barrels to mln the eia said residual fuel stocks fell mln barrels to mln barrels and crude oil stocks in the strategic petroleum reserve spr rose barrels to mln the total of all crude refined product and spr stocks fell mln barrels to it said reuter 
usx x unit to raise most crude postings usx s subsidiary marathon petroleum co said it will raise its contract prices for eleven grades of crude oil cts a barrel effective tomorrow the increase brings marathon s posted price for west texas intermediate and west texas sour grades to dlrs a barrel the light louisiana grade was also raised cts to dlrs a barrel reuter 
u s house panel takes first trade bill votes house trade lawmakers took their first votes on measures designed to toughen u s trade laws but held over until tomorrow the most difficult votes on controversial plans to protect american industries meeting in closed session the house ways and means trade subcommittee failed to resolve one of the most sensitive issues in the bill whether they will force major foreign trading partners to severely cut their trade surpluses with the united states the subcommittee is considering a toned down version of democratic sponsored trade legislation that aims to open foreign markets but which drops last year s effort to force president reagan to retaliate with quotas or tariffs congressional aides who asked not to be identified said the lawmakers intend to wrap up their proposals tomorrow and will consider a proposal to mandate retaliation without setting specific trade penalties the legislation faces another hurdle in the full ways and means committee next week before the full house votes on it rep richard gephardt a missouri democrat who is seeking his party s presidential nomination said he may offer an amendment to call for reductions in the trade surpluses of those countries with barriers to imports of u s goods this would be a moderated version of his earlier plan to force a mandatory ten per cent annual cut in the trade surplus with the united states by japan south korea taiwan west germany and other countries with the largest trade imbalances my criteria for a good amendment sets a standard for getting the trade deficit down he told reporters the trade law changes are to become part of a major congressional and administration effort to turn around the record u s trade deficit of billion dlrs last year by opening up foreign markets and making u s products more competitive house speaker james wright a texas democrat said again today he expects the full house will approve the trade bill by may and that reagan will accept the final congressional bill i expect whatever is reported by the ways and means committee will pass we will have a good bill and an effective bill he told reporters the comprehensive trade bill will include work by other committees to ease export controls on high technology to aid u s workers displaced by foreign competition to stimulate research and development to remove foreign trade barriers and to improve education and worker training the lawmakers agreed that for the first time a u s industry could charge foreign producers with unfair competition if they deny basic worker rights such as collective bargaining safety rules and payment of a minimum wage appropriate to the country s economic development they transferred to u s trade representative clayton yeutter the powers now held by reagan to decide whether to retaliate against foreign violations of fair trade rules and whether an injured industry deserves import relief they agreed to make it easier for a company to get temporary relief from import competition but agreed the industry should provide a plan to become competitive the administration has not announced its support but yeutter said yesterday i am cautiously optimistic that the democratic led house will come up with an acceptable bill reuter 
soviet minister says trade boost up to french soviet first deputy prime minister vsevolod murakhovsky said at the end of a brief visit here his country wanted to boost joint business with france but that a reduction of france s trade deficit with the soviet union depended on the french murakhovsky who is also chairman of the state agro industrial committee gosagroprom told a news conference he had discussed a variety of possible deals with french companies rhone poulenc pechiney and imec declining to put figures on possible contracts he said he had discussed plant protection and the processing of highly sulphuric gas with rhone poulenc packaging technology for agricultural products with pechiney and fruit and vegetable juice processing with imec an official for pechiney said an agreement of intent on packaging could be signed soon but could not give any other details the other two companies were not immediately available for comment asked whether he foresaw a reduction this year of france s trade shortfall at billion francs in the first months of against billion for the whole of murakhovsky told reuters it all depends on france at a meeting in paris last january french and soviet foreign trade ministers said they were committed to increased efforts to reduce the deficit estimates at the time showed a french mln franc surplus for december murakhovsky said the soviet union was prepared to talk with anybody with interesting proposals offering latest technology and assuring a mutual advantage he said the soviet union had many tasks ahead of it and would deal rapidly with proposals it considered interesting he encouraged companies to take advantage of new laws guaranteeing the interests of foreign partners in joint ventures but he said no agreements had yet been finalised under the new joint venture laws he said concrete deals had not yet been finalised as a result of a one billion dollar accord signed in moscow last month with french businessman jean baptiste doumeng he said doumeng s interagra company was preparing proposals for further examination by the soviet union doumeng last month said the agreement was to exchange one billion dollars worth of goods murakhovsky said the agreement was one of intent and designed primarily to renew and increase the soviet union s food production capacity reuter 
venezuela to lend oil to ecuador for export venezuela will supply ecuador with an as yet undetermined amount of crude oil to help it meet export commitments seriously affected by last week s earthquake energy and mines minister arturo hernandez grisanti said he gave few details about the deal but said a crude oil loan agreement will be made between state oil companies petroleos de venezuela pdvsa and ecuador s cepe ecuador was forced to suspend oil exports for an expected four months after an earthquake damaged a pipeline oil accounts for per cent of its export income hernandez was speaking to reporters at miraflores palace on the results of talks with ecuador s deputy energy minister fernando santos alvite who arrived here last night the volume lent to ecuador would be discounted from its opec quota and would not affect venezuela s he said we would from august on produce our own quota and sell the additional amounts that ecuador would be repaying us he said he did not elaborate on the quota arrangements but did say ecuador would notify opec by telex that venezuela would be lending it a certain amount over so many days venezuela s opec output quota is currently million barrels a day and ecuador s has been set at bpd reuter 
britain calls on japan to increase imports britain today called on japan to increase foreign imports or risk the rise of protectionism and the harm it would bring to it and other trading nations british trade and industry secretary paul channon said japan must heed a report issued by a japanese government advisory body in december calling for faster domestic demand to help cut its trade surplus and restructure its economy i recognise that the strong yen has brought problems to japan s domestic economy he told a group of japanese businessmen in london but these short term difficulties should not be allowed to deflect japan from the fundamental reforms necessary he said it is not just a domestic issue for japan if import propensity does not expand very soon there is a real risk from protectionist lobbies particularly in the u s with whom japan has so massive a surplus he said they may well succeed in securing action by governments which would be highly injurious to trading nations like japan and the u k channon said there had been substantial growth in the volume of trade between japan and britain amounting to billion sterling billion dlrs last year but he added regrettably too much of it was in one direction with the japanese selling us billion sterling billion dlrs more than we sold them reuter 
treasury secretary baker declines comment on g u s treasury secretary james baker declined comment on the february paris accord between the six major industrial nations under which they agreed to foster exchange rate stability asked by reporters after a speech before the national fitness foundation banquet what if any currency intervention levels had been set in paris baker replied we never talk about intervention baker also declined to comment on his views about the foreign exchange markets reaction to the accord reuter 
ecuador to ask opec to raise export quota ecuador will ask opec to raise its oil export quota by barrels per day to to compensate for lost output due to last week s earthquake deputy energy minister fernando santos alvite said santos alvite who arrived in caracas last night to discuss an aid plan for ecuador did not say when the organisation of petroleum exporting countries opec would be approached the additional output would be related to plans now under discussion for venezuela and mexico to lend ecuador crude while it repairs a pipeline damaged by the quake earlier venezuelan energy and mines minister aturo hernandez grisanti said his country would supply an unspecified part of ecuador s export commitments but santos alvite told reporters he hoped a first cargo of barrels could leave maracaibo this weekend to supply refineries near guayaquil he added ecuador also wanted to make up for bpd it shipped to caribbean destinations mexico might supply ecuador s south korean market ecuador may be unable to export oil for up to five months due to extensive damage to a mile stretch of pipeline linking jungle oilfields to the pacific port of balao reuter 
china closes second round of offshore oil bids china has closed the second round of bidding by foreign firms for offshore oil exploration rights the china daily has reported it quoted a spokesman for the china national offshore oil corp cnooc as saying china signed eight contracts with foreign firms for blocks in the pearl river mouth and south yellow sea covering a total area of sq km second round bidding began at the end of and only one well has so far produced results lufeng km south east of shenzhen with an output of barrels a day the well was drilled by a group of japanese companies the spokesman added cnooc was ready to enter into contracts for offshore blocks before third round bidding began he did not say when this would be but added the contracts would not be bound by restrictions imposed during the second round china has signed oil contracts and agreements with companies from countries since when offshore exploration was open to foreigners eleven contracts were terminated after no oil was discovered foreign firms have invested billion dlrs on offshore china since reuter 
taiwan further relaxes foreign goods import curbs taiwan said it would soon relax import controls on some foreign items including stationery and books in a further effort to allow trading partners especially the u s greater access to its markets taiwan announced the easing of import curbs on some farm and industrial products last month a council for economic planning and development spokesman told reuters he said the new move was intended to balance trade between taiwan and its trading partners the island s trade surplus reached a record billion u s dlrs last year up from billion in in january taiwan cut import tariffs on some foreign products and allowed imports of u s wine beer and cigarettes we hope the measures will help reduce our trade surplus this year especially with that of the u s the spokesman said washington is pressing taiwan to open its markets wider as a way of cutting its trade deficit with the island which rose to billion u s dlrs in the first two months of from billion in the year earlier period reuter 
china trade deficit falls in january china s trade deficit in january fell to mln dlrs from mln in january the china daily business weekly said quoting customs figures the paper said exports fell to billion dlrs from billion and imports fell to billion from billion reuter 
bank of england offers early help in money market the bank of england said it had invited the discount houses to make an early round of bill offers to help offset a large liquidity shortage in the money market it estimated the shortage at around billion stg one adverse factor being the unwinding of a sale and repurchase agreement with the market having to buy back bills worth mln stg from the bank bills maturing in official hands and the treasury bill take up would drain mln stg wile exchequer transactions and a note circulation rise would take out mln and mln respectively above target bankers balances would add mln reuter 
canada january trade surplus mln dlrs after december mln dlrs surplus 
canada january trade surplus mln dlrs canada had a trade surplus of mln dlrs in january compared with an upward revised mln dlrs surplus in december statistics canada said the december surplus originally was reported at mln dlrs the january surplus last year was billion dlrs january exports seasonally adjusted were billion dlrs against billion in december and billion in january january imports were billion dlrs against billion in december and billion in january reuter 
china closes second round of offshore oil bids china has closed the second round of bidding by foreign firms for offshore oil exploration rights the china daily has reported it quoted a spokesman for the china national offshore oil corp cnooc as saying china signed eight contracts with foreign firms for blocks in the pearl river mouth and south yellow sea covering a total area of sq km second round bidding began at the end of and only one well has so far produced results lufeng km south east of shenzhen with an output of barrels a day the well was drilled by a group of japanese companies the spokesman added cnooc was ready to enter into contracts for offshore blocks before third round bidding began he did not say when this would be but added the contracts would not be bound by restrictions imposed during the second round china has signed oil contracts and agreements with companies from countries since when offshore exploration was open to foreigners eleven contracts were terminated after no oil was discovered foreign firms have invested billion dlrs on offshore china since reuter 
ecuador to ask opec to raise export quota ecuador will ask opec to raise its oil export quota by barrels per day to to compensate for lost output due to last week s earthquake deputy energy minister fernando santos alvite said santos alvite who arrived in caracas last night to discuss an aid plan for ecuador did not say when the organisation of petroleum exporting countries opec would be approached the additional output would be related to plans now under discussion for venezuela and mexico to lend ecuador crude while it repairs a pipeline damaged by the quake earlier venezuelan energy and mines minister aturo hernandez grisanti said his country would supply an unspecified part of ecuador s export commitments but santos alvite told reporters he hoped a first cargo of barrels could leave maracaibo this weekend to supply refineries near guayaquil he added ecuador also wanted to make up for bpd it shipped to caribbean destinations mexico might supply ecuador s south korean market ecuador may be unable to export oil for up to five months due to extensive damage to a mile stretch of pipeline linking jungle oilfields to the pacific port of balao reuter 
treasury secretary baker declines comment on g u s treasury secretary james baker declined comment on the february paris accord between the six major industrial nations under which they agreed to foster exchange rate stability asked by reporters after a speech before the national fitness foundation banquet what if any currency intervention levels had been set in paris baker replied we never talk about intervention baker also declined to comment on his views about the foreign exchange markets reaction to the accord reuter 
canada leaders fail to set pact on free trade prime minister brian mulroney said he held frank discussions with the canadian province premiers on the pace of free trade talks with the united states but the longstanding issue of provincial ratification remains to be settled speaking to reporters after nearly five hours of meetings with the premiers mulroney said further discussions would be held in june and september to discuss the role of the provinces in approving any new trade deal but he maintained progress was being made in the sweeping talks with the unites states that got under nearly two years ago it appears reasonable progress is being made in the talks mulroney said alberta premier don getty agreed things are running pretty quickly now the talks launched by mulroney s progressive conservative government after concerns about protectionist sentiment in the u s are aimed reducing the remaining barriers between the world s largest trading partnership but the provinces are expected to play a major role in any new trading arrangement and some of the provincial leaders complained of a lack of progress on reaching a ratification formula it s my view that we should be thinking about these things right now along with the questions of the substance of the agreement commented ontario premier david peterson who has been highly critical of the talks in the past but newfoundland premier brian peckford said an agreement was more likely to emerge by consensus and there would be no need for a hard and fast formula peckford said it appears canada is prepared to make concessions to the united states on financial services in order to make inroads on other bargaining areas such as agriculture canadian published reports quoting government sources say the two countries are close to reaching a trade deal and it will involve eliminating border tariffs and many non tariff barriers over the next to years a rough draft of the accord is expected to be presented to the premiers at the june meeting while the finished document is hoped to be presented to congress in october it s a very tight time frame ontario s peterson said last night but at this moment it is tough to say what will transpire reuter 
bankers oppose strict taiwan currency controls taiwan imposed currency controls today in what bankers called a desperate move to prevent speculation as the taiwan dollar appreciated against the u s currency the strict controls will require proof that large remittances to taiwan are connected to commercial transactions rather than currency speculation bankers attacked the controls as ineffective saying they were a panic reaction to pressure from washington for faster appreciation of the taiwan currency against the u s dollar which would slow exports to the united states remittances exceeding one mln dlrs earned through exports shipping insurance or bank lending will now need government approval along with remittances of more than dlrs from any other source reuter 
taiwan to relax import curbs on more goods taiwan will relax import controls on more foreign goods a government spokesman said today the move was to allow greater access to taiwan markets by overseas trading partners especially the united states an official of the council for economic planning and development told reuters import curbs on about foreign goods including stationery and books would soon be relaxed he said taiwan announced it would ease curbs on some farming and industrial products last month the official said the moves were intended to balance trade between taiwan and the united states and other trading partners taiwan s trade surplus reached a record billion dlrs last year up from billion in reuter 
most japan firms not renewing iran term contracts most japanese companies have decided not to renew term contracts to lift iranian crude oil because spot prices remain considerably lower than opec s official levels industry sources said they said a cargo of the mideast benchmark crude dubai traded yesterday at dlrs a barrel compared to its official price of dlrs only one japanese company has renewed its term contract for iranian crude oil for the second quarter the sources said the sources said japanese companies had been lifting a total of about barrels per day bpd of iranian crude under term contracts but only one firm has agreed to lift in the second quarter it is lifting just to bpd they said this move could inspire iran to offer discounts on cargoes loading in april but the likelihood of discounts depended largely on the levels of spot prices if the spot price of dubai goes above dlrs we would probably buy iranian crude at the official price one japanese refiner said we don t intend to put pressure on them he added buyers have little incentive to renew contracts to lift oil at official opec prices while spot prices on all grades are considerably lower oil traders said they said if spot prices move higher there will be no problem finding opec crude to purchase at the official prices qatar has chartered floating storage for its crude oil after finding no buyers at official prices in march the problem is likely to recur in april adding to that country s surplus the traders added that iraq had dissociated itself from opec s december production agreement while agreeing to the fixed prices but oil analysts said if opec keeps group output close to its first half ceiling of mln bpd supply and demand would be balanced by the end of the second quarter they also said if opec holds its official price structure based on a reference price of dlrs spot price fluctuations should be limited to a to dlrs range for dubai and a to dlrs range for the north sea s brent blend one japanese refiner said at the moment there s a lot of pressure on opec particularly on qatar but if they hold out there will be no problem and i m beginning to trust their ability nigerian oil minister and opec president rilwanu lukman told a news conference in lagos yesterday nigeria and all member countries of opec remain determined to uphold the december agreement by adhering strictly to their various quotas and official selling prices he said opec believed consumers had drawn heavily on stocks of both crude oil and refined products reducing them to levels well below this time last year he said consumers would soon return to the market in search of crude a japanese refiner said the european and u s markets are beginning to look better so opec might be quite lucky 
pakistan s trade deficit narrows in february pakistan s trade deficit narrowed to billion rupees provisional in february from billion final in january and compared with billion in february the federal bureau of statistics figures show exports fell to billion rupees provisional in february from billion final in january and compared with billion in february imports fell to billion rupees provisional in february from billion final in january and compared with billion in february reuter 
saudi output said at year low to help opec saudi arabian oil output has fallen to its lowest level in more than a year giving fresh evidence of the kingdom s determination to keep oil prices at dlrs a barrel as agreed by opec last december oil industry sources said they said saudi output in the first eight days of march averaged mln barrels per day bpd including oil from the neutral zone shared with kuwait compared to a february average of mln bpd they said saudi arabia was also selling oil from its crude oil stocks in tankers around the world which opec says must be counted towards a member s production quota saudi arabia s quota is mln bpd the lower production levels indicated saudi arabia the world s largest oil exporter was insisting on getting opec official prices even at the cost of lower production the sources said king fahd reiterated yesterday in an interview with reuters and the television news agency visnews the saudi commitment to opec s december pact to boost oil prices to an average dlrs saudi arabia is completely sticking to opec decisions he said the sources said the kingdom s exports from gulf ports averaged one mln bpd during the eight days ending last sunday down from a february average of mln bpd they said saudi arabia was allowing production to fluctuate with lifting nominations and was not trying to maintain artificially high levels by putting oil into storage the kingdom s main buyers the four u s oil firms with past stakes in the national oil company aramco mobil exxon texaco and chevron enjoy considerable flexibility in the timing and volume of their liftings but are bound to pay official prices the sources said spot market prices have firmed in the past two weeks but still remain below opec levels and major buyers have delayed liftings in the hope they would improve the sources said they expected low early march output to pick up towards the end of the month as buyers sought to fulfill their contractual obligations reuter 
sweden sets october deadline for s africa boycott sweden announced its promised program of unilateral economic sanctions against south africa and gave firms an october deadline to cut trading links foreign trade minister anita gradin said a trade boycott of south africa and neighbouring namibia would take effect from july followed by a three month period of grace to give companies time to wind down their operations from october no direct trade would be allowed in either direction with certain exceptions covering medical supplies and printed matter gradin told a news conference she said exceptions would also be granted in cases where a swedish trade boycott would benefit south african firms and disadvantage south africa s black ruled neighbours the front line states gradin cautioned that legislation upon which the boycott would be based was not impossible to get round she said a parliamentary committee would investigate ways of closing some of the bigger loopholes including indirect trade with south africa via swedish subsidiaries in third countries reuter 
fed says it sets two billion dlrs of customer repurchase agreements 
mobil mob to restructure exploration unit mobil oil corp said it will restructure its dallas based mobil exploration and producing services inc operations april one to provide stronger technological support to its u s and overseas operations mobil said the operation will consist of two new units technical services and application technology along with the existing drilling and new exploration ventures groups it said r c mills president and general manager of its exploration and producing southeast inc has been named vice president and general manager of the new operation reporting to p j hoenmans president of its exploration and producing division reuter 
wildlife unit proposes alaska refuge oil study the national wildlife federation rejected an interior department draft plan to open wilderness lands in northern alaska to oil and gas exploration the federation the nation s largest conservation group said further study was needed to assess any possible damage that development might have on the wildlife in the area the coastal plain of the arctic national wildlife refuge jay hair the federation s executive vice president called the interior s research into the effects of development so fundamentally flawed that it provides little or no basis on which to make a public policy decision hair called the department s proposal a reflection of a largely political decision adding we have no confidence in interior to represent the broad public interest in this area interior wants to open the million acre coastal plain to oil and gas exploration but it said only with tough safeguards to protect the area s caribou and musk oxen it said a preliminary survey showed the region could hold billions of barrels of oil and gas and that its potential as an energy resource would never be known without exploration interior said oil on the coastal plain could match the billion barrels found at prudhoe bay just west of the plain under existing law congress must agree to oil and gas exploration and if it does not act the land will remain a wildlife refuge protected from commercial development hair said interior s report failed to stress the probability that finding recoverable oil is only pct he said interior s study also failed to weigh oil gas fish and wildlife information the state of alaska had gathered nor had the department consulted the environmental protection agency on the possible effects of exploration the federation in letters to congressmen proposed that a nine member commission be set up to study all aspects of the issue and report back to congress in about two years hair said the federation was not opposed to the possible exploration of oil only that interior s study was inadquate to make a sound judgement congressional observers said that at present there was little sentiment in congress to open the wildlife area for commercial exploitation dispite increasing concern that the united states is becoming overly dependent on foreign oil reuter 
solv ex solv shell canada shc pact complete solv ex corp said it successfully completed its oil sands pilot testing program under its agreement with shell canada limited shc and received a u s dlr bonus payment it also said that shell canada exercised its option to take over solv ex s pct working interest in the construction of the oil facility relieving it of its obligation to raise about mln canadian dlrs for plant construction it said pct of that loan was guaranteed by the government of alberta in exchange for shell s participation solv ex said shell is obligated to pay it an up front royalty and a running royalty based on the operating profits of the oil sands facility it said the shell canada barrel per day oil sands project will be built on shell s oil sand lease about miles north of fort mcmurray in the athabasca region of northern alberta solv ex said the project will cost about mln canadian dlrs it said that following a final feasibility study the plant should open in the early s when oil prices are expected to exceed u s dlrs per barrel reuter 
powerine refinery to resume operations powerine oil co said its refinery here will resume operation today with initial crude oil runs of barrels per day powerine a privately held company said it expects the refinery to become fully operational by may with crude oil throughput at bpd initial oil products deliveries are scheduled for monday powerine said the refinery had been closed due to a change of ownership the company said reuter 
montedison other refineries to shut for work selm societa energia montedison is to close its priolo crude refining units from march th to march th for maintenance a company spokesman said throughput at the refinery is currently estimated at bpd although total capacity is nearer bpd several other mediterranean refineries are currently shutdown for maintenance most of which were scheduled some months ago but industry sources said that shutdowns may have been rearranged to avoid running negative netback crude tighter availabilities of products as a result of the shutdowns in the med is helping to keep products markets bullish particularly for march deliveries oil traders said garrone s refinery at san quirico capacity bpd is due to shutdown on march th for three weeks and the jointly owned isab garrone refinery at mellili capacity bpd is due to start up around march th following its closure for maintenance a month ago a company spokesman said the esso italiana refineries at augusta and siracusa will not be closing this spring a spokesman for the company said in france the distillation unit at societe francaise de bp s lavera refinery has been closed for maintenance since march and is due to restart early april total capacity is bpd it is currently operating at around pct capacity a company spokesman said shell francaise s berre l etang refinery will shut down in early april until mid june a company spokesman said capacity is around bpd compagnie francaise de raffinage cfr will close the visbreaker at its la mede refinery in early april but would not affect crude throughput at the refinery a company spokesman said current capacity is bbl day despite current bullish sentiment in the med however traders noted that crude netbacks are beginning to look more attractive and most maintenance shutdowns should be finished in two to three weeks as a result oil industry sources suggest that the situation may ease by mid april reuter 
attacks affect colombia s oil outlook ecopetrol continuous rebel raids against oil pipelines and foreign exploration camps endanger colombia s present oil bonanza franciso chona manager of the state run oil company ecopetrol said it seems the subversion wants to end with our oil bonanza he told reporters he was speaking after a meeting with defense minister rafael samudio military chiefs and mines and energy minister guillermo perry to review the security situation in the light of a recent upsurge of leftist guerrilla attacks in the oil rich arauca region bordering venezuela ecopetrol chief of security retired general carlos narvaez said security measures would be stricter and that the armed forces were closely collaborating but gave no details samudio said new plans had been designed and hoped they would be effective samudio stressed that despite the most recent attacks which cost more than four mln dlrs in damage the overall situation had improved compared with last december when initial measures were taken to combat a wave of attacks repeated bombings of a vital pipeline from the cano limon oilfield to the caribbean then led to a loss of barrels of crude reuter 
sun raises crude postings cts effective today wti to dlrs bbl 
sun sun raises crude postings cts sun co said it raised the contract price it will pay for crude oil cts a barrel effective today the increase brings sun s posted price for the west texas intermediate and west texas sour grades to dlrs bbl the light louisiana sweet grade was also raised cts to dlrs bbl sun co last changed its crude postings on march reuter 
diamond shamrock raised crude by cts bbl today wti up to dlrs 
phillips raises crude postings cts effective today wti to dlrs bbl 
phillips p raises crude postings cts phillips petroleum said it raised the contract price it will for all grades of crude oil cts a barrel effective today the increase brings phillip s posted price for the west texas intermediate and west texas sour grades to dlrs a bbl phillips last changed its crude oil postings on march the price increase follows similar moves by usx s x subsidiary marathon oil and sun co sun earlier today reuter 
volcker sees no clearcut evidence that u s trade deterioration has yet been reversed 
diamond shamrock dia raises crude postings diamond shamrock said it raised the contract price it will pay for crude oil cts a barrel effective today the increase brings the company s posted price for the benchmark grade west texas intermediate to dlrs bbl diamond shamrock last changed its postings on march reuter 
key u s house trade subcommittee approves bill to toughen u s trade laws 
no clear evidence trade gap reversed volcker federal reserve board chairman paul volcker said current data does not give a clear sign that the deterioration in the u s trade balance has yet been reversed the data we have in hand do not provide clearcut evidence that the deterioration in the trade balance has yet been reversed volcker said in remarks prepared for delivery to a luncheon for community leaders here however volcker said there are encouraging signs particularly the rising volume of exports over the past year achieved despite relatively slow growth abroad volcker warned it is not sustainable from an economic perspective to pile up foreign debt while failing to make the investment needed to generate growth and earn the money to service the debt he said the process of restoring external balance to the u s economy requires dealing with the budget deficit he said needed economic adjustment will require a relative shift of financial and real resources into internationally competitive industry more of our growth will need to be reflected in net exports and business investment and less in consumption volcker said reuter 
house speaker backs oil import forecast plan house speaker jim wright endorsed a proposal to require the president to take action to reduce oil imports if they threaten to top pct of u s consumption wright told reporters the plan by sen lloyd bentsen a fellow texas democrat was positive and useful oil imports peaked in at pct were short of pct last year and this year are up over pct bentsen said the bentsen proposal supported by other senators would would require the president to issue annual three year oil import forecasts in any year they threatened to top pct he would be ordered to propose quotas or other solution reuter 
u s house panel approves trade bill the house ways and means trade subcommittee unanimously approved a toned down version of legislation designed to toughen u s trade laws and wedge open foreign markets to more u s goods the measure now goes to the full house ways and means committee next week but major changes are not expected congressional sources said this product could very well be toughening our trade policy and doing it in a manner that opens markets without this frightening word protectionism ways and means chairman dan rostenkowski an illinois democrat said the trade subcommittee backed away from mandating specific retaliation against foreign countries for unfair foreign trade practices as the house had approved in a trade bill last year but it held over for the full ways and means committee debate on a controversial plan by rep richard gephardt to mandate a reduction in trade surpluses with the u s by countries such as japan south korea and taiwan gephardt a missouri democrat has not decided the exact form of his amendment an aide said last year the house approved his idea to force an annual ten pct trade surplus cut by those countries the trade bill will be wrapped in with legislation from other committees dealing with relaxation of export controls incentives for research expanded worker training and education and other efforts to increase u s competitiveness the comprehensive trade bill is to be considered by the full house in late april and then will be considered by senate committees it requires president reagan to retaliate against foreign unfair trade practices but do not mandate quotas or tariffs and allow an exemption if u s economic security would be harmed by u s actions against other countries the bill would make it easier for u s industries to win relief from surges of imports of competitive products it extends until january the administration s authority to negotiate trade agreements as part of the new round of multilateral talks under the general agreements on tariffs and trade and it includes provisions to tighten trade rules on copyrights patents and telecommunications goods reuter 
unocal raises most crude prices cts today wti at dlrs 
unocal ucl raises crude oil postings unocal corp said it raised the contract price it will pay for most grades of crude oil cts a barrel effective today the increase brings unocal s posted price for the u s benchmark grade west texas intermediate to dlrs a barrel it also brought the price for west texas sour to dlrs a bbl light louisiana sweet was also raised cts to dlrs bbl unocal last changed its crude postings on march four and brings it price in line with other major companies which have been raising prices steadily in recent weeks the increase also represents the latest in a series of increases that began with usx corp s x marathon petroleum corp s notification yesterday evening that effective today it raised its crude postings cts a barrel bringing its contract price for wti to dlrs a barrel earlier today sun co sun phillips petroleum p and diamond shamrock dia also said they raised their crude postings cts a barrel bringing their wti contract price to dlrs a barrel contract prices have risen in response to higher spot market prices oil traders said reuter 
citgo raises crude postings cts today wti to dlrs bbl 
southland slc unit raises crude postings southland corp s citgo petroleum corp said it raised the contract price it will pay for crude oil cts a barrel effective today the increase bring s citgo s posted price for the west texas intermediate and west texas sour grades to dlrs a barrel the light louisiana sweet south onshore grade was also raised cts to dlrs a barrel and light louisiana sweet north was increased to dlrs a barrel citgo last changed its postings on march four reuter 
brazil cancels oil purchase from saudi arabia brazil s state oil company petrobras cancelled a mln dlr crude oil purchase from saudi arabia after the saudis refused to accept credit guarantees from the bank of brazil a petrobras official said export director carlos santana told a press conference the saudis were the first suppliers of oil to impose such conditions after brazil s decision to halt interest payment of its commercial debts last month the shipment of mln barrels represents two days of oil consumption in brazil but santana said if the saudis change their minds and decide to respect the terms of the contract then petrobras will lift the order to cancel the shipment santana said if the saudis do not accept brazil s terms by monday then petrobras will negotiate elsewhere petrobras has been saudi arabia s traditional client since if they do not accept our conditions now it will be much better for us because with the market prices more or less the same buying from iraq and china is an advantage he said iraq and china have barter deals with brazil importing brazilian goods in exchange for oil but the saudis buy nothing from brazil he said santana said despite a strike threat by oil industry workers and a two week stoppage by brazilian seamen petrobras oil stocks are reasonably balanced saudi arabia is brazil s second biggest oil supplier with an average bpd iraq is the main supplier with bpd china comes third with bpd if the saudis wish to stop our trade relationship fine i am sure that if they do we will be getting dozens of offers from elsewhere santana added reuter 
u s house panel approves trade bill the u s house ways and means trade subcommittee unanimously approved a toned down version of legislation designed to toughen u s trade laws and wedge open foreign markets to more u s goods the measure now goes to the full house ways and means committee next week but major changes are not expected congressional sources said this product could very well be toughening our trade policy and doing it in a manner that opens markets without this frightening word protectionism ways and means chairman dan rostenkowski an illinois democrat said the trade subcommittee backed away from mandating specific retaliation against foreign countries for unfair foreign trade practices as the house had approved in a trade bill last year but it held over for the full ways and means committee debate on a controversial plan by rep richard gephardt to mandate a reduction in trade surpluses with the u s by countries such as japan south korea and taiwan gephardt a missouri democrat has not decided the exact form of his amendment an aide said last year the house approved his idea to force an annual pct trade surplus cut by those countries reuter 
india gets mln dlr world bank loan the world bank said it has approved a mln dlr loan for india to help lessen that country s dependence on imported oil and spur development of its own petroleum resources the bank said the loan will be used to boost production by injecting gas in the partially depleted assam oil fields and to assist exploration in other areas including drilling exploratory wells the bank said the recipient of the year loan will be oil india ltd oil which is the smaller of two public indian petroleum exploration and production companies reuter 
india gets mln dlr world bank loan the world bank said it approved a mln dlr loan for india to help lessen that country s dependence on imported oil and spur development of its own petroleum resources the bank said the loan will be used to boost production by injecting gas in the partially depleted assam oil fields and to assist exploration in other areas including drilling exploratory wells the bank said the recipient of the year loan will be oil india ltd oil which is the smaller of two public indian petroleum exploration and production companies reuter 
venezuela to lend ecuador bpd of crude venezuela will lend ecuador barrels per day of crude oil over the next few months to help it meet its export commitments energy and mines minister arturo hernandez grisanti said today he said that under the terms of this loan agreed during a visit here this week by ecuador s deputy energy minister fernando santos alvite ecuador will begin repaying the loan in august hernandez grisanti said the loan will go part way to offsetting the loss of ecuador s in exports caused by earthquake damage to miles of pipeline last week ecuador was forced to suspend exports after the pipeline connecting its jungle oil fields with the pacific port of balao was put out of action venezuela has an output quota of bpd while ecuador s is bpd santos alvite said ecuador will ask opec to allow it to produce bpd above its quota when the pipeline is repaired to offset present production losses hernandez grisanti said also a first barrels shipment of venezuelan crude oil will leave for ecuador this weekend to help meet domestic consumption needs the oil part of a five mln additional crude oil loan by venezuela will be processed at guayaquil refineries if we had not supplied oil to ecuador the life of this country would have ground to a halt he said reuter 
japan denies breaking semiconductor trade pact japan denied breaking a pact with the u s on semiconductor trade but said prices set out in the pact were too high and acknowledged difficulties in implementing the accord we are faithfully abiding by the agreement but of course there are some problems a spokesman for the international trade and industry ministry told reuters he said the high semiconductor prices recommended by the agreement were leaving japanese manufacturers piling up stocks of unsellable products we are aiming to reduce production in japan but of course this takes time he said the spokesman said some japanese companies were selling chips in europe and asia below stipulated prices but added it is only a matter of time before we solve this problem the eight month old pact aims to stop japan selling large quantities of chips at knock down prices to the united states and other countries and to increase u s semiconductor sales in japan the u s senate finance committee this week called on president reagan in a non binding resolution to retaliate against japan for violating the agreement reuter 
swiss feb trade deficit mln francs jan deficit mln official 
swiss february trade deficit mln francs switzerland had a trade deficit of mln swiss francs in february compared with a revised mln deficit in january and mln shortfall in february the federal customs office said february imports were billion francs against exports of billion imports rose in real terms by pct against february while exports rose by a real pct the office said but a further improvement in the terms of trade left the deficit smaller than last year last february s figure had also been hit by the import of two passenger aircraft reuter 
bank of japan calls for long term efforts on trade the short term effect of foreign exchange rate movements in correcting international trade imbalances appears to be waning and long term efforts are required to cut japan s chronic dependence on external demand the bank of japan said in a monthly report japan s trade surplus in nominal terms is likely to remain high in the near future the central bank said fundamental adjustments will be needed as long as japan hopes to benefit from a better international allocation of resources and maintain the free trade system it added reuter 
opec deliberately under mln barrel ceiling to defend price subroto 
subroto sees oil market continuing bullish indonesian energy minister subroto said he sees the oil market continuing bullish with underlying demand expected to rise later in the year he told a press conference in jakarta at the end of a two day meeting of south east asian energy ministers that he saw prices stabilizing around dlrs a barrel the sentiment in the market is bullish and i think it will continue that way as demand will go up in the third or fourth quarters subroto said asked about the prospect for oil prices he said i think they will stabilise around dlrs although there is a little turbulence of course the spot price will fluctuate but the official price will remain at dlrs he added reuter 
opec defending dlr price subroto says indonesian energy minister subroto said opec is deliberately under its production ceiling of mln barrels to defend its dlr a barrel price target he told reporters at an energy conference in jakarta that opec had decided to maintain its price level of dlrs we are deliberately defending the price so opec production is less than mln at the moment he stated asked if opec would increase production if prices went above dlrs a barrel he said this would be decided at the next opec meeting in june we will discuss the market situation then he added he said a meeting of the opec differentials committee had been postponed because there is no need for the meeting he did not elaborate the committee had originally been due to meet in vienna this week reuter 
bank of england offers early help to money market the bank of england said it invited an early round of bill offers to help ease tight conditions in the money market the bank estimated today s liquidity shortage at about billion stg bills maturing in official hands and the treasury bill take up would drain billion stg from the system while a rise in the note circulation and below target bankers balances would take out mln and mln respectively the bank said against this exchequer transactions would add a net mln stg reuter 
petrobras cancels oil purchase from saudi arabia brazil s state oil company petrobras has cancelled a mln dlr crude oil purchase from saudi arabia after the saudis refused to accept credit guarantees from the bank of brazil and did not disclose reasons a petrobras official said export director carlos santana told reporters the saudis were the first suppliers of oil to impose such conditions after brazil s decision to halt interest payment of its commercial debts last month the shipment of mln barrels represents two days of consumption he said the saudis reported they would no longer accept letters of credit from the bank of brazil or even from saudi banks and that brazil would have to obtain credit guarantees from leading international banks in february brazil had contracted to buy bpd from the saudis until june saudi arabia is brazil s second biggest oil supplier with an average bpd iraq is the main supplier with bpd china comes third with bpd if the saudis wish to stop our trade relationship i am sure that if they do we will be getting dozens of offers from elsewhere santana added santana said if the saudis change their minds and decide to respect the terms of the contract then petrobras will lift the order to cancel the shipment the saudis had put similar conditions on a previous shipment he added we telexed them saying that if they insisted we would rather cancel the contract and buy the product elsewhere santana said after petrobras threatened to cancel the contract the saudis changed their minds and decided to accept the bank of brazil s credit guarantees he said reuter 
miyazawa says exchange rates will stay stable finance minister kiichi miyazawa told a press conference he thinks exchange rates will remain stable due to the currency accord reached in paris last month by six major industrialised nations but he did not say for how long the dollar has hovered around yen since the six agreed to cooperate to bring about currency stability asked to comment on remarks by some u s officials calling for a further decline of the dollar miyazawa said only the u s president and the u s treasury secretary can make official statements about exchange rates reuter 
subroto sees oil market continuing bullish indonesian energy minister subroto said he sees the oil market continuing bullish with underlying demand expected to rise later in the year he told a press conference in jakarta at the end of a two day meeting of south east asian energy ministers that he saw prices stabilizing around dlrs a barrel the sentiment in the market is bullish and i think it will continue that way as demand will go up in the third or fourth quarters subroto said asked about the prospect for oil prices he said i think they will stabilise around dlrs although there is a little turbulence of course the spot price will fluctuate but the official price will remain at dlrs he added reuter 
opec defending dlr price subroto says indonesian energy minister subroto said opec is deliberately under its production ceiling of mln barrels to defend its dlr a barrel price target he told reporters at an energy conference in jakarta that opec had decided to maintain its price level of dlrs we are deliberately defending the price so opec production is less than mln at the moment he stated asked if opec would increase production if prices went above dlrs a barrel he said this would be decided at the next opec meeting in june we will discuss the market situation then he added he said a meeting of the opec differentials committee had been postponed because there is no need for the meeting he did not elaborate the committee had originally been due to meet in vienna this week reuter 
bank of japan calls for long term efforts on trade the short term effect of foreign exchange rate movements in correcting international trade imbalances appears to be waning and long term efforts are required to cut japan s chronic dependence on external demand the bank of japan said in a monthly report japan s trade surplus in nominal terms is likely to remain high in the near future the central bank said fundamental adjustments will be needed as long as japan hopes to benefit from a better international allocation of resources and maintain the free trade system it added reuter 
weather closes alexandria port sumed oil terminal strong winds and high seas forced the closure of egypt s main port of alexandria and a nearby oil terminal port officials said tanker loading at the suez mediterranean arab petroleum pipelines co in sedi kerir southwest of here stopped and officials said five tankers were at anchorage awaiting improved weather reuter 
uk money market deficit revised to one billion stg the bank of england said it has revised its estimate of today s shortfall to one billion stg before taking account of mln stg morning assistance reuter 
economic spotlight ems marks eighth birthday the european monetary system marks its eighth anniversary still vulnerable to turmoil in world money markets despite creating an island of currency rate stability in europe economists say but many economists say the system which holds eight european community currencies within narrow fluctuation bands remains in its infancy its new currency the european currency unit ecu has been a runaway success with investors and borrowers alike seeking an alternative to the volatile dollar and on wednesday the long term vision of the ecu as europe s common currency took a step nearer to becoming reality when belgium minted the world s first ecu coin but economists say members such as west germany have so far blocked a second stage of development envisaged by the system s founding fathers ex west german chancellor helmut schmidt and former french president valery giscard d estaing under this phase originally due to have started two years after the ems was set up decision making was to have been transferred from national governments and central banks to an autonomous european monetary fund but members have jealously guarded their sovereignty in economic and monetary matters the basic problem of the ems is that governments are not prepared to make the quantum leap to a situation where certain decisions are taken in common said one economist who has closely watched the system s development the result is that the ec is often divided over policy on third currencies accentuating what the economists say is the system s greatest weakness its vulnerability to a weak dollar over the past months as the u s dollar plunged and investors moved into strong currencies the resulting sharp rise of the west german mark severely strained the system more as the mark soared against the dollar it also rose against ems currencies less favoured by international investors and as west germany last year refused to give in pressure from several ec partners and the united states to cut interest rates to slow the mark s rise the ems had to be realigned twice to ease financial and trade strains within the community two months ago the mark and the dutch guilder were revalued by three pct and the belgian and luxembourg francs by two pct against other currencies in the system the french franc italian lira the irish punt and danish crown another frustration has been britain s failure to lend the ems political support by keeping the pound still a major world currency outside the system no change in the british government s attitude is expected before the country s next general elections due by mid meanwhile the system s last realignment the th since it was set up prompted european finance ministers to ask the ec s highly secretive monetary committee and committee of central bank governors to come up with suggestions for reinforcing it their ideas are due to be unveiled when finance ministers hold an informal meeting in belgium early next month but economists said the proposals are unlikely to involve more than tinkering with technical details they are sceptical about the chances for any fundamental change technical measures won t be enough to protect the ems against external factors such as dollar weakness for that we must take the step forward to the institutional level said leo de corel of kredietbank s economic research department economists say the system s fortunes now will depend largely on the success of an agreement last month among major industrial nations to stabilise exchange rates if the dollar resumes its slide the ems could be in for more turbulence they predict reuter 
france repays some of currency intervention debt france today repaid billion francs of short term currency intervention debt to the european monetary cooperation fund emcf the finance ministry said it said the debt was part of a billion franc liability incurred through the activation of emcf swap facilities to defend the franc before the january european monetary system realignment the realignment following several weeks of speculative pressure produced a three pct revaluation of the west german mark and the dutch guilder against the french franc and a two pct revaluation of the belgian franc reuter 
shell canada raises crude prices by canadian cts bbl today at edmonton 
german bank sees good soviet trade prospects soviet west german trade is expected to develop favourably due to moscow s increasing openness to east west economic relations dresdner bank ag s moscow representative michael stein said he told a bank presentation the soviet union was last year hit by the fall in world oil prices which cut export revenue from oil related products and natural gas and its overseas buying power was also adversely affected by the lower dollar dresdner bank economist alfred apholte said the soviet union s large currency and gold reserves had softened the impact of the dollar weakening and oil price drop reuter 
ors seeks canadian funds for heavy oil test ors corp said dominion securities alberta inc has been appointed to offer common shares in a new canadaina company being organized to exploit heavy oil production opportunities in canada and western europe ors said the offer for private sale of the stock being made on a best efforts basis is designed to raise five mln canadian dlrs which the new company will invest in properties and projects using the electromagnetic well stimulation process developed by iit research institute under sponsorship of ors reuter 
petrobras asks army to withdraw troops brazil s state oil company petrobras has asked the army to withdraw the troops which were occupying its oil installations since tuesday petrobras said in a statement the statement said the request for the withdrawal of the troops was made because of the calmness reigning in all of its refineries the request was also due to the end of the seamen s strike and the willingness of the oil industry workers to sit again by the negotiating table the statement said even though the petrobras statement said the seamen s strike was over a union spokesman said only two small shipping companies had reached a pay agreement the overwhelming majority of brazil s seamen remained on strike the statement said a meeting between petrobras and oil industry leaders was set for next wednesday in rio with the presence of labour minister almir pazzionotto as a mediator petrobras said the request for the withdrawal of the troops was made at local hours gmt but a company spokesman said he did not know if the troops had already been removed reuter 
white house says trade bill generally good white house spokesman marlin fitzwater said the administration had some disagreements with the trade bill that cleared a house subcommittee yesterday but generally felt good about the bill generally we feel very good about the bipartisan consideration of the trade legislation i think we are progressing very well he told reporters there are wide areas of agreement there are some areas of disagreement he said reuter 
ecuador begins work on oil pipeline to colombia construction workers today began building a km mile pipeline to link ecuador s jungle oilfields to a pipeline in colombia through which ecuadorean crude could be pumped to the pacific coast ecuadorean energy minsitry officials said they said it would take about two months and at least mln dlrs to build the pipeline from lago agrio in ecuador to puerto colon colombia for connection to the colombian pipeline which goes to the port of tumaco on colombia s pacific ocean coast the lago agrio to puerto colon pipeline is designed to transport between to barrels of day bpd of ecuadorean crude to the colombian pipeline they said the colombian pipeline to tumaco has ample room for ecuadorean crude they said it is currently transporting about bpd out of its bpd capacity an ecuadorean energy ministry official said the ecuadorean crude reaching tumaco will be shipped by boat to ecuador for refining into oil products to meet domestic demand the completion of the pipeline would allow ecuador to resume some of production paralysed since march six by an earthquake the night before the tremor ruptured the country s main pipeline from jungle oilfields to the ecuadorean port of balao on the pacific ocean ecuador was pumping about bpd before the earthquake it would take about five months to repair the pipeline to balao government officials said ecuador estimates that it will cost between to mln dlrs to repair oil installations damaged by the earthquake energy ministry javier espinosa said reuter 
dutch trade fully in balance but down in january the netherlands recorded a flat trade balance in january with both exports and imports totaling billion guilders a modestly lower compared with december but sharply down from january last year an economics ministry spokesman said quoting official statistics january exports compared with a december figure of billion guilders and were pct below last year s level of billion january imports compared with billion guilders in december and fell pct from billion in january last year reuter 
trade bill to change agriculture trade laws the house ways and means committee is moving toward passage of a trade bill that sponsors said was intended to help open foreign markets to u s agricultural goods and to modify some u s agricultural trade laws the trade subcommittee voted to require president reagan to take into account the potential harm to u s agricultural exports of any trade retaliation he might impose for foreign unfair trade practices against other domestic industries the bill would allow u s agricultural producers to seek government monitoring of imports if there is a reasonable chance the industry would be harmed by an import surge the full ways and means committee is to consider the bill next week and congressional sources said they expect it will be approved in investigations involving a processed agricultural product trade associations of processors or producers would have to petition for relief from foreign dumping or unfair duties the bill sets out u s trade negotiating objectives for the uruguay round of talks under the general agreement on tariffs and trade it would seek fair trade in agriculture seek to discipline restrictive or trade distorting import and export practices to eliminate tariffs subsidies quotas and non tariff barriers president reagan s authority to negotiate a new gatt agreement would be extended through january and authority to negotiate a free trade zone with canada would be extended through january the bill extends reagan s authority to negotiate an international coffee agreement through october it allows a refund of import duties paid on raw sugar imported from november to march for production of sugar or products containing sugar and destined for re export the export of the sugar or products must occur before octoer presently to qualify for the refund the sugar must be processed within three years after import and exported within five years agriculture would also benefit from more rapid decisions in complaints of unfair foreign trade practices or injury from imports reuter 
after g round one goes to central banks central banks have easily beaten back the foreign exchange market s first test of the industrialized nations recent pact to stabilize currencies analysts said in active trading this week the market pushed the dollar sterling the canadian dollar and australian dollar higher but operators got their fingers burned as one by one the central banks signalled their displeasure so far g has been a roaring success said james o neill financial markets economist at marine midland bank na the central banks are sending strong signals that they won t tolerate any kind of momentum building behind currencies added a senior corporate trader at one u k bank on february the finance ministers and central bank governors of the u s japan west germany france and the u k the group of five plus canada signed an accord under which they agreed to cooperate closely to foster stability of exchange rates around prevailing levels the agreement was viewed by many in the market as an attempt to put a floor under the dollar after its sizeable two year decline against major world currencies and initially traders indicated their respect for the accord by refraining from pushing the dollar lower but by wednesday the dollar climbed to more than marks about five pfennigs above its levels the friday before the g accord the move was aided by indications that the u s economy picked up steam in february at the same time as the west german economy was regressing but dealers said the federal reserve bank of new york gave traders a sharp reminder that the g pact had encompassed the idea of limiting inordinate dollar gains as well as declines dealers differed as to whether the u s central bank actually intervened to sell dollars above marks or simply telephoned dealers to ask for quotes and enquire about trading conditions but the dollar quickly backed off it hovered today around marks the market was surprised that the fed showed its face so soon said marine midland na s o neill also on wednesday london dealers said the bank of england intervened in the open market to sell sterling as the u k currency rose to dlrs compared with dlrs before the g pact sterling along with the other high yield currencies like the australian dollar and canadian dollar was in favor after traders surmised that the the chance of intervention pursuant to the paris currency accord left limited room for profit plays on dollar mark and dollar yen the pound also was boosted by suggestions of an improving u k economy anticipation of a popular british budget on march and public opinion polls showing good chances for the incumbent conservative party in any general election there was a real run on sterling said anne mills of shearson lehman brothers inc sterling traded today around dlrs down from dlrs last night it slid to marks from yesterday and from a peak of about recently there s been some heavy profit taking on sterling mark ahead of next tuesday s u k budget said james mcgroarty of discount corp as speculators detected the presence of the u s and british central banks they acclerated their shift into canadian and australian dollars but here too they were stymied the bank of canada acted to slow its currency s rise the canadian dollar traded at per u s dollar today down from yesterday and the australian reserve bank using the fed as agent sold australian dollars in the u s yesterday dealers said the australian dollar fell to a low of u s cents today from a high of thursday analysts said the central banks moves to stifle sudden upward movement leave the market uncertain about its next step today the focus shifted to the yen which has held to a very tight range against the dollar for several months the dollar fell to yen from last night analysts said the yen also gained as traders unwound long sterling short mark positions established lately because of the change in perceptions about the health of the german economy the funds from those unwinding operations are ending up in yen a dealer at one u k bank said recent west german data have shown falling industry orders lower industrial output and slowing employment gains moreover the yen is benefitting as japanese entities who have invested heavily overseas for example in australian financial instruments repatriate their profits ahead of the end of the japanese fiscal year on march noting that the dollar yen rate is in a sense the most controversial one because of the large u s trade deficit with japan analysts said the stage could be set for another test of the dollar s downward scope against the japanese currency in its latest review of the foreign exchange market through the end of january the federal reserve revealed that it intervened to protect the dollar against the yen on january on that day the dollar fell as low as yen sure the fed bought dollars near the yen level in january but the market has to bear in mind that time marches on and the situation changes said mcgroarty of discount reuter 
venezuela to lend up to mln barrels of oil venezuela will lend ecuador up to mln barrels of crude oil to help it meet its export commitments and its domestic energy demand ecuadorean energy and mines minister javier espinosa said today in a statement ecuador was forced to suspend exports after the pipeline connecting its jungle oil fields with the pacific ocean port of balao was damaged last week by an earthquake venezuela would lend barrels per day of crude for a total of up to to mln barrels to help ecuador meet export commitments espinosa said also venezuela will sell the crude and provide the foreign exchange earnings to ecuador he said ecuador would repay venezuela in crude once it resumed its exports after repairing its pipeline to balao a task that would take an estimated five months venezuela is lending ecuador five mln barrels of crude for refining in this country to meet domestic demand ecuador would repay that loan with crude once the oil pipeline is repaired both countries are the only latin american members of the organisation of petroleum exporting countries opec ecuador was exporting about bpd before the earthquake energy ministry officials said its total output was around bpd reuter 
pdvsa to sign champlin refinery deal march petroleos de venezuela s a said it will sign a contract march to buy a half interest in a corpus christi texas refinery and related operations the contract to be signed by pdvsa and champlin petroleum s parent company the union pacific corp unp will create a new joint venture called champlin refining the state oil company said pdvsa will pay on the order of mln dlrs for the half interest in champlin energy minister arturo hernandez grisanti said wednesday the cost would be mln dlrs in cash plus an additional mln in crude and refined oil shipments pdvsa and union pacific have sought a line of credit from a group of north american and japanese banks to finance the new company s working capital the venezuelan company said under the deal pdvsa will supply up to barrels a day to the refinery with the option to place bpd more mostly gasoline and distillates through champlin s distribution system in u s states the new company will be directed by a six member board with three representatives each from pdvsa and union pacific reuter 
saudis drop condition for oil sale to brazil saudi arabia has dropped its condition that brazil secure international bank guarantees before saudia arabia would ship it oil the state oil company petrobras said in a statement petrobras said the saudis will accept banco do brasil credit guarantees petrobras cancelled a mln dlr crude oil purchase from the saudis yesterday after they refused to accept a letter of credit from the official bank of brazil the saudis had demanded that brazil get credit guarantees from leading international banks petrobras said the saudis had been advised that if they did not change their mind by monday petrobras would negotiate the purchase of oil with other producers the petrobras statement said the shipment of mln barrels will be made by the saudis on march as scheduled the shipment is part contract signed in february for the saudis to supply brazil with barrels per day until june reuter 
saudi arabia decides to accept brazil credit saudi arabia has lifted the condition it imposed on the sale of oil to brazil and will accept banco do brasil s credit guarantees state oil company petrobras said in a statement petrobras cancelled a mln dlr crude oil purchase from the saudis yesterday after they refused to accept a letter of credit from the bank of brazil demanding guarantees from leading international banks it advised the saudis the company would negotiate oil purchases elsewhere unless they changed their mind by monday the mln barrels shipment will be made by the saudis on march as scheduled the statement said under a bpd contract signed in february the saudis agreed to supply oil to brazil until june reuter 
swedish trade surplus rises in february sweden s trade surplus rose to billion crowns in february from billion in january and billion in february the central bureau of statistics said the trade surplus for the first two months of the year rose to billion crowns from billion in the corresponding period of the report said february imports stood at billion crowns while exports were billion reuter 
baldrige warns of world trade war danger u s commerce secretary malcolm baldrige predicted congress will pass a reasonable trade bill this year and said tough protectionist legislation could prompt a trade war the mood of the congress right now is as tough on trade as i ve ever seen it in six years in washington baldrige said in a television interview i think we ll still be able to get a reasonable trade bill out in spite of that because the whole congress is trying to work together with the administration but there is a hardening trade attitude he said president reagan opposes protectionist legislation but agreed to support a trade bill when it became apparent that opposition democrats would pass such legislation however baldrige warned measures that would penalise trading partners such as japan south korea and taiwan for failing to cut their trade surpluses with the u s could lead to retaliation and he said he would urge reagan to veto any such bill when asked if there is a rising danger of a worldwide trade war baldrige said yes i don t think there s any question about that reuter 
saudi oil minister foresees no need for new opec measures before june 
saudi oil minister sees no need to alter opec pact saudi arabian oil minister hisham nazer said opec s december agreement to stabilise oil prices at dlrs a barrel was being implemented satisfactorily and there was no immediate need to change it nazer in an interview with reuters and the television news agency visnews said saudi arabia was producing around three mln barrels per day bpd of crude oil well below its opec quota saudi arabia the world s largest oil exporter will continue to restrain production as long as other opec members adhere to the pact nazer said the nation opec agreed in december to cut its production ceiling by pct to mln bpd and abide by fixed prices averaging dlrs a barrel from february nazer in his first interview since succeeding ahmed zaki yamani last october said i do not foresee any need for new measures before the th of june when our next opec meeting will take place as scheduled nazer said opec was producing below mln bpd and all members were abiding by its agreements we ve heard news every now and then of violations but they were not at all verified he said opec production curbs have boosted world oil prices from a year low of around eight dlrs a barrel last august to near dlrs after announcement of the december pact spot market prices slipped some two dlrs in february but have firmed in the past two weeks to near opec levels as traders gained confidence in opec price and output discipline nazer said saudi arabia would continue to produce below its mln bpd quota if necessary to defend the dlr price as long as all the opec members adhere to the program as devised in december saudi arabia will continue to adhere to the agreement he said current production of three mln bpd includes oil from the neutral zone shared with kuwait but not sales from floating storage nazer said king fahd of saudi arabia in an interview with reuters and visnews on march said the kingdom wanted oil price stability and called on non opec producers to avoid harmful competition with opec saudi arabia doesn t decide prices by itself but certainly desires price stability he said nazer said the output level did not mean the kingdom had returned to a role of swing producer within opec saudi arabia allowed its output to sink as low as two mln bpd in august to compensate for slack demand and over production by some opec states saudi arabia is not playing that role it is being played by opec membership as a whole because the reduction in the mln bpd share of opec in the market is being shared by other members of opec nazer said nazer said opec estimated demand for its oil during third quarter this year would be around mln bpd but he said if circumstances changed i am sure then the opec members will consult with each other and take the necessary measures oil analysts say the opec pact could come under strain when demand for petroleum products generally falls in the northern hemisphere spring and summer nazer said he was satisfied with the extent of cooperation from non opec producers norway egypt and the soviet union agreed to help opec by restraining production or exports after he visited them on opec s behalf earlier this year we did not ask any country to do anything these were programmes they thought were necessary to stabilise market conditions and to help themselves attain better pricing conditions nazer said he said it was up to countries that declined to cooperate such as britain to come up with their own proposals if they saw fit reuter 
saudi businessmen to discuss private sector saudi arabian business leaders assembled for a conference aimed at thrashing out problems facing the private sector of the kingdom s oil dependent economy the meeting of some top businessmen from across saudi arabia comes at a time of guarded optimism in industry and commerce following the opec pact to boost world oil prices the four day conference in this resort town high in the mountains above the tihamah plain stretching to the red sea has been organised by saudi arabia s chambers of commerce finance minister mohammed ali abal khail and commerce minister suleiman abdulaziz al salim will attend the first day bankers and businessmen said the conference will air problems facing commerce and industry after last year s slide in oil prices and examine ways to promote higher investment in a private sector sorely short of finance government planners have long recognised that saudi arabia the world s largest crude exporter needs to foster private enterprise to diversify its oil based economy the fledgling private sector was hard hit by the middle east recession as early as and several big manufacturing and trading companies ran into problems repaying loans renewed optimism this year stems largely from the accord reached by opec last december to curb oil output and boost prices to a benchmark level of dlrs per barrel with oil prices recovering saudi arabia went ahead at the turn of the year with long delayed budget plans incorporating a billion riyal deficit to be bridged by drawing down foreign reserves the simple act of publishing a budget restored a measure of confidence to the business community some share prices have risen by more than pct since last november while banks are generally reporting a slowdown in the number of new non performing loans but not all bankers are convinced one senior corporate finance manager in riyadh said banks are still reluctant to lend there is certainly more optimism in the air but i am not sure if it is firmly based some businessmen and bankers point out that government spending is still under tight control and the non oil economy may still be contracting capital expenditure on large projects has been cut sharply a u s embassy report on saudi arabia published just before the budget said while industrialisation has continued to be one of the government s highest priorities the recession the payments problem and the lack of financing have reduced saudi and foreign investor interest in industry it is the lack of fresh investment that is expected to be a major issue among the businessmen gathered here official figures show the number of new licences for industrial ventures fell pct in the six months to march compared with the same period in lending by the saudi industrial development fund a major source of industry backing has fallen steadily since trading companies have also been hit some caught with huge inventories of construction equipment as recession bit some firms laid off workers and cut bloated inventories others have effectively been liquidated a few have reached agreement with bankers to extend debt repayments the latest rescheduling is for the shipping to hotels conglomerate redec its negotiators have just initialled a draft accord to restructure payments on billion riyals of bank debt bankers and businessmen said the conference was also likely to discuss the apparent reluctance of u s and british firms to step up investment in the kingdom a british government delegation has just left riyadh after holding preliminary talks on ways of offsetting the huge saudi outlay on a defence contract to supply fighter aircraft worth five billion stg reuter 
leading industrial nations to meet in april leading industrial nations will meet again next month to review their accord on currency stability but u s officials said financial markets are convinced for now the countries will live up to commitments to speed up economic growth the narrow currency movements of recent weeks strongly suggests the six leading industrial countries have tamed the normally unruly financial markets and next month s talks seem likely to build on that stability a reagan administration official said the paris agreement last month was the main reason markets were calm but he said in an interview that financial markets also understood that all six countries concluded that the measures to be taken over a period of time in the future should foster stability of exchange rates around current levels that is in fact what has happened since paris monetary analysts said stability has been helped in part by the decision of industrial nations to bury the hatchet and cease to quarrel over short term policy objectives instead they have focused on medium term policy goals but left room to adjust their agreements with periodic meetings the official refused to comment however on whether the agreement included a secret pact to consider further coordinated interest rate cuts a measure industrial nations have taken jointly several times in the past year on february the united states japan west germany france britain and canada agreed that major currencies were within ranges broadly reflecting underlying economic conditions given commitments by washington to cut its budget deficit and by toyko and bonn to boost economic growth the shake up would strengthen the u s position in future international talks i think these changes will strengthen the president s hand politically and the stronger he is politically the better off we are with the congress and the better off we are in international fora said the official an administration economic policymaker so it would be beneficial to the continued conduct of our initiatives but the official also said the administration would resist calls for a tax increase to cut the budget deficit a target europeans say is crucial to help curb economic instability last week dealers said the federal reserve intervened to stop the dollar rising against the mark which had breached to the dollar british authorities are also understood to have intervened to curb sterling s strength international monetary sources say finance ministers and central bankers who will review market performance and their own economic prospects will reassemble again in washington just before the april policymaking meeting of the international monetary fund the sources said italy which refused to join the paris pact was invited back by treasury secretary james baker since paris there are signs west german growth is slowing while u s officials said they were giving japan until april to show that an economic stimulus package was in the offing signs of concern about german prospects emerged recently when bundesbank central bank president karl otto poehl told bankers he would consider cutting west german interest rates if the fed was ready to follow suit a reagan administration official said this would show there had been some change in approach on the part of the central bank in germany but he declined to comment on the prospects for action by the fed and the bundesbank if there is such a provision it is private and if i talked about it it would no longer be private said the official who asked not to be identified public comments by fed officials suggest the central bank is keeping credit conditions broadly unchanged but if the major economies continue to show sluggish growth and the u s trade deficit remains stubbornly high further coordinated action could be on the april agenda reuter 
taiwan says u s wants taiwan dollar to appreciate the united states wants taiwan s currency to appreciate faster to reduce taiwan s trade surplus with the u s a senior trade official said board of foreign trade director vincent siew told reporters on saturday u s officials told him in washington last week that unless taiwan allowed its dollar to rise faster it would face retaliation siew returned from washington on friday after the u s responded to taiwan s request to increase its textile export quotas by promising further talks in may taiwan s surplus with the u s hit a record billion u s dlrs in washington signed a three year accord with taipei last year limiting textile export growth to pct a year siew said the taiwan dollar had risen by about pct against the u s dollar since september it surged last week amid indications washington was seeking a major rise in its value it rose four cents against the u s dollar on saturday to close at western trade sources told reuters taiwan and the u s have been holding talks on the currency issue but added it is not clear how far washington wants to see the taiwan dollar rise reuter 
zambia imf talks hit problems over food subsidies zambia s talks with the world bank and international monetary fund imf on a financial rescue package have run into difficulties on the issue of food subsidies an official newspaper said the times of zambia which is run by the ruling united national independence party unip quoted official sources as saying the imf and world bank had refused to continue financing food subsidies and were pressing the government to explain how it proposes to pay for them president kenneth kaunda tried to abolish maize subsidies last december in line with imf recommendations but the move caused maize meal prices to double overnight and led to riots in which people were killed the subsidies were immediately restored as part of moves to quell the disturbances but they are estimated to cost the government about mln kwacha per year the times of zambia said another major issue in the government s current talks with the imf and world bank was the remodelling of zambia s foreign exchange auction the central bank s weekly auction of foreign exchange to the private sector has been suspended since the end of january pending modifications to slow down the rate of devaluation and dampen fluctuations in the exchange rate the kwacha slid to around per dollar under the auction system losing pct of its value in months however since the end of january it has been revalued to a fixed rate of nine per dollar banking sources said zambia was persuaded by the world bank and imf to lift its proposed ceiling of kwacha per dollar on the currency s devaluation once the auctions restart according to the times of zambia the imf team led by assistant director for africa paul acquah is due to conclude its talks with the government on schedule on march the imf mission arrived in lusaka on february and its talks with the government have taken longer than expected reuter 
german banking authorities weigh swap regulations german banking authorities are weighing rules for banks off balance sheet activities in an attempt to cope with the growing volume of sophisticated capital market instruments banking sources said interest rate and currency swaps and currency options are under closest scrutiny and if revisions are made they may resemble regulation jointly proposed by the u s and u k to japan juergen becker director of the bundesbank s division of banking law and credit supervision said the u s british proposals were interesting but declined to elaborate but banking sources said west germany was more likely to produce its own conclusions than to adopt foreign proposals there is no formal plan yet but talks are in the latter stages one representative of the german banking association in cologne said bankers expect rule changes this year all alterations must be approved by the bundesbank west germany s four major banking associations and the federal banking supervisory office talks have been slowed by the fact that fundamental changes would require a revision of germany s credit law which has been in effect since authorities favour reinterpreting the credit law to fit present circumstances in order to avoid the long parliamentary political process of changing it banking sources said since the beginning of the banking law has limited banks lending to times shareholders equity plus reserves on a consolidated basis but lending ratios do not extend to several newer instruments such as spot and forward currency contracts currency and interest swaps commercial paper programs currency options interest rate futures in foreign currencies and various innovative types of interest rate hedges the sources said the main value of the u s u k proposals lay in differentiating between different types of risk factor and for instance in placing greater weight on currency swaps than interest swaps but even if german banking authorities agree with some of the assessments of swaps they disagree on how to find balance sheet equivalents for the risk u s british proposals include a complicated series of formulae for assessing the stream of payments involved in swaps whose ultimate risk is borne by the financial intermediary especially when counterparties remain anonymous this is the so called market to market value but german authorities are likely to consider this much too complex and to base their evaluation instead on a schedule of lending ratings assigned according to the creditworthiness of the borrowers involved the sources said the weightings also likely if lending ratios are extended to include banks securities portfolios are zero for public authorities pct for domestic banks pct for foreign banks and pct for other foreign and non bank borrowers a further complication is that the more flexible definitions of equity allowed in the u s and the u k may put german banks at a competitive disadvantage the sources said stricter definitions here also mean the use of a version of the u s u k proposals could far exceed the intent of the u s and british authorities the sources said one specialist for dresdner bank ag said a long dated foreign exchange forward transaction could for instance be brought under the same rule as a cross currency swap despite the fact that the risk may be entirely different how new regulations will affect foreign banks here was uncertain many have converted to full subsidiary status and applied for a full banking licence over the last two years in order to lead manage mark eurobonds but as their equity capital is fairly small tight lending ratios will severely hamper foreign banks freedom of movement particularly in the growing business of currency swaps if they are required to include more transactions in the balance sheet the sources added reuter 
china reports mln dlr two month trade deficit china s trade deficit totalled mln dlrs in the first two months of this year according to figures released by the state statistics bureau the new china news agency quoted the bureau as saying foreign trade totalled billion dlrs in the period of which exports were worth billion dlrs the bureau said total trade volume was up pct on the same period with exports up pct but it gave no other comparative figures china s trade deficit totalled billion dlrs official figures show reuter 
u k money market offered early assistance the bank of england said it invited an early round of bill offers from discount houses after forecasting a shortage in the system of some billion stg among the main factors affecting liquidity bills maturing in official hands and treasury bill take up will drain some billion stg while exchequer transactions will take out around mln stg and bankers balances below target five mln stg partly offseting these outflows a fall in note circulation will add some mln stg to the system today reuter 
norway s trade deficit widens in february norway s trade deficit widened in february to mln crowns from mln crowns in january and mln crowns in february last year the central bureau of statistics said exports dropped to billion crowns last month compared with billion in january and billion in february it added crude oil and natural gas exports totalled billion crowns in february against billion in january and billion a year ago reuter 
mees says second week march opec output mln bpd opec produced only about mln bpd of oil in the second week of march mln bpd below its ceiling largely because of pipeline problems in turkey and ecuador the middle east economic survey mees estimated a landslide breached iraq s one mln bpd pipeline through turkey on march for a week and earthquakes in ecuador have shut down its export pipeline for four to five months ecuador has an opec quota of bpd mees put saudi arabian output at mln bpd in the first week of march and mln bpd in the second in addition to output from the neutral zone between saudi arabia and kuwait mees said saudi arabia was pumping more than bpd of its total production into floating storage saudi oil minister hisham nazer told reuters and the television news agency visnews yesterday that saudi output including neutral zone production was around three mln bpd the cyprus based newsletter also said authoritative libyan oil sources said libya was producing bpd compared with its bpd quota and that actual liftings are much lower than that it said one major libyan equity producer had partially stopped lifting its bpd equity entitlement for march because libya was insisting on official prices but is still lifting bpd of debt crude at official prices and a further bpd of purchase crude it said small equity producers with entitlements of only to bpd had also told tripoli they could not lift at official prices mees said iraq had sent a telex to opec and member countries calling for the formation of a committee to study what it said were inequalities in marketing potential among various members the newsletter said the iraqi letter indicated baghdad was having difficulty selling crude at official prices the iraqi telex pointed out that some member countries export substantial volumes of oil that are not subject to opec price regulations exports of refined products equity crude on which the margins are equivalent to covert discounts and other forms of hydrocarbons which are marketed in package deals with crude oil reuter 
ecuador says it will pay debt when it can president leon febres cordero said ecuador would honour its debt when it had the capacity to make payments but said foreign banks had calculated oil would have to be dlrs a barrel for ecuador to meet its commitments ecuador said on friday that last week s earthquake was forcing it to reaffirm an earlier decision based on the slide in world oil prices to suspend debt payments to private foreign banks which hold two thirds of its billion dlr foreign debt all legitimate debt is a commitment of honour the president said during a visit to the quake zone a government as a sovereign entity has dignity and prestige to maintain private foreign banks and the world bank had calculated oil would have to be at least dlrs a barrel for quito to be able to meet its commitments febres cordero said he added that ecuadorean crude was now selling for to dlrs a barrel after having been sold for many months at dlrs a barrel and as low as seven dlrs before that meanwhile ecuador announced an austerity program and a price freeze on key consumer goods as a result of the earthquake which killed at least people presidency minister patricio quevedo said the budget would be cut by five to pct government hiring would be frozen and salaries of top officials including the president and cabinet would be reduced he also said a price freeze would be imposed on basic consumer items mainly food staples while the price of gasoline would rise by between and pct and bus fares would rise by pct gasoline supplies would also be limited reuter 
u k money market deficit forecast revised upwards the bank of england said it had revised its estimate of the shortage in the money market today up to billion stg before taking account of its early operations earlier the bank forecast the deficit at billion stg and gave mln stg assistance at an early round of bill offers reuter 
paribas seeking to adjust ecuador oil facility banque paribas which arranged a mln dlr loan for ecuador last year to pre finance oil exports wants to adjust the terms of the facility to help the country recover from a devastating earthquake bankers said but the french bank s plan which would effectively postpone repayment of about mln dlrs of the loan for several months is running into stiff resistance from many of the members of the loan syndicate the pipeline that carries all ecuador s oil exports was ruptured in the march tremor and will take some five months to repair at a cost of about mln dlrs to repair president leon febres cordero on friday estimated total damages caused by the quake at one billion dlrs and said that ecuador as a result would maintain january s suspension of interest payments on its foreign commercial bank debt payments were halted in january because of the drop in the price of oil which accounts for nearly two thirds of ecuador s export earnings and pct of government revenue although sympathetic to ecuador s plight many banks in the paribas facility feel that emergency financial relief is a job for international financial organizations and not for commercial banks bankers said the month oil financing facility which was signed last october is one of the few purely voluntary credits for a latin american nation since the region s debt crisis erupted in august because it was a voluntary deal many bankers feel strongly that the orginal terms must be adhered to otherwise they fear the gradual re establishment of normal market conditions for latin borrowers will be set back there s a lot of reluctance by the other banks they feel it s a different facility and so any kind of suggestion of a restructuring would look bad one banker commented reuter 
saudi oil minister sees no need to alter pact saudi arabian oil minister hisham nazer said opec s december agreement to stabilize oil prices at dlrs a barrel was being implemented satisfactorily and there was no immediate need to change it nazer in an interview with reuters and the television news agency visnews said saudi arabia was producing around three mln barrels per day bpd of crude oil well below its opec quota saudi arabia the world s largest oil exporter will continue to restrain production as long as other opec members adhere to the pact nazer said the nation opec agreed in december to cut its production ceiling by pct to mln bpd and abide by fixed prices averaging dlrs a barrel from february nazer in his first interview since succeeding ahmed zaki yamani last october said i do not foresee any need for new measures before the th of june when our next opec meeting will take place as scheduled nazer said opec was producing below mln bpd and all members were abiding by its agreements we ve heard news every now and then of violations but they were not at all verified he said opec production curbs have boosted world oil prices from a year low of around eight dlrs a barrel last august to near dlrs after announcement of the december pact spot market prices slipped some two dlrs in february but have firmed in the past two weeks to near opec levels as traders gained confidence in opec price and output discipline nazer said saudi arabia would continue to produce below its mln bpd quota if necessary to defend the dlr price as long as all the opec members adhere to the program as devised in december saudi arabia will continue to adhere to the agreement he said current production of three mln bpd includes oil from the neutral zone shared with kuwait but not sales from floating storage nazer said king fahd of saudi arabia in an interview with reuters and visnews on march said the kingdom wanted oil price stability and called on non opec producers to avoid harmful competition with opec saudi arabia doesn t decide prices by itself but certainly desires price stability he said nazer said the output level did not mean the kingdom had returned to a role of swing producer within opec saudi arabia allowed its output to sink as low as two mln bpd in august to compensate for slack demand and over production by some opec states saudi arabia is not playing that role it is being played by opec membership as a whole because the reduction in the mln bpd share of opec in the market is being shared by other members of opec nazer said nazer said opec estimated demand for its oil during third quarter this year would be around mln bpd but he said if circumstances changed i am sure then the opec members will consult with each other and take the necessary measures oil analysts say the opec pact could come under strain when demand for petroleum products generally falls in the northern hemisphere spring and summer nazer said he was satisfied with the extent of cooperation from non opec producers norway egypt and the soviet union agreed to help opec by restraining production or exports after he visited them on opec s behalf earlier this year we did not ask any country to do anything these were programmes they thought were necessary to stabilise market conditions and to help themselves attain better pricing conditions nazer said he said it was up to countries that declined to cooperate such as britain to come up with their own proposals if they saw fit 
turkish trade deficit widens in turkey s trade deficit rose to billion dlrs in from billion in following increased imports from western countries figures from the state statistics institute show exports were down pct at billion dlrs compared with billion in while imports were down pct at billion dlrs from billion total trade with mid east gulf states fell some pct due to lower oil prices with imports at billion dlrs compared with billion and exports at billion after billion exports to organisation for economic cooperation and development countries rose to billion dlrs from billion in while imports were billion after billion turkey s trade deficit in december narrowed to mln dlrs from mln in november and compared with mln in december reuter 
egypt soviets to renegotiate arms debt terms egypt and the soviet union are expected to sign an agreement in moscow next week settling cairo s three billion dlr military debt egyptian officials said one official who asked to remain anonymous told reuters a draft agreement would reduce to zero from two pct future interest payable on the year old debt and set a year repayment term talks are due to begin in moscow on wednesday economy minister youssri mustapha who leaves for moscow on tuesday met president hosni mubarak and egyptian ambassador to moscow salah bassiouni to discuss the issue one official said egypt would propose a new exchange rate for trade with the soviet union current commerce is based on a rate set in the s of egyptian pounds to the dollar which moscow sees as unreasonable the fluctuating official rate is about pounds to the dollar the officials said part of the debt would be paid in exports of goods such as textiles leather and furniture egypt wants to settle the debt problem partly to open the door for new cooperation mainly in modernising soviet built steel aluminium and fertiliser plants under a five year development plan ending june egypt which already imports soviet coal wood newsprint and glass also wanted a debt deal to allow purchases of currently blocked spare parts for its ageing soviet military hardware the officials said an estimated pct of egypt s arsenal is still made up of soviet supplied equipment one official said cairo stopped repaying moscow for arms purchases in when then president anwar sadat broke with its long standing ally and turned to the u s reuter 
saudis drop condition for oil sale to brazil saudi arabia has dropped its condition that brazil secure international bank guarantees before saudia arabia would ship it oil state oil company petrobras said in a statement petrobras said the saudis will accept banco do brasil credit guarantees petrobras cancelled a mln dlr crude oil purchase from the saudis yesterday after they refused to accept a letter of credit from the official bank of brazil the saudis had demanded that brazil get credit guarantees from leading international banks petrobras said the saudis had been advised that if they did not change their mind by monday petrobras would negotiate the purchase of oil with other producers the petrobras statement said the shipment of mln barrels will be made by the saudis on march as scheduled the shipment was part of a contract signed in february for the saudis to supply brazil with barrels per day until june reuter 
baldrige warns of world trade war danger u s commerce secretary malcolm baldrige predicted congress will pass a reasonable trade bill this year and said tough protectionist legislation could prompt a trade war the mood of the congress right now is as tough on trade as i ve ever seen it in six years in washington baldrige said in a weekend television interview i think we ll still be able to get a reasonable trade bill out in spite of that because the whole congress is trying to work together with the administration but there is a hardening trade attitude he said president reagan opposes protectionist legislation but agreed to support a trade bill when it became apparent that opposition democrats would pass such legislation however baldrige warned measures that would penalize trading partners such as japan south korea and taiwan for failing to cut their trade surpluses with the u s could lead to retaliation and he said he would urge reagan to veto any such bill when asked if there is a rising danger of a worldwide trade war baldrige said yes i don t think there s any question about that reuter 
u k money market given mln stg late help the bank of england said it provided the money market with late assistance of around mln stg this takes the bank s total help today to some billion stg and compares with its estimated deficit of around billion reuter 
west german exports to u s drop sharply west german exports to the united states fell below four billion marks worth in january for the first time since mid provisional bundesbank data showed the figures showed exports were billion marks in january sharply down from december s billion and the lowest since the billion exported to the u s in july this compared with billion marks in january total west german exports to western industrialised countries also fell in january to billion marks from december s billion also posting the lowest monthly total since july west german exports to the european community were billion marks in january down from billion in december and billion in january last year the figures showed exports to developing nations and centrally planned economies also slackened separately commerzbank ag said in a report that the focus of west german exports this year was likely to shift to europe because of an expected downturn in growth in the dollar area this was one of the strengths of west german exports compared with japan which depended in large part on the u s opec and developing country markets it added reuter 
trade interests ready for fight in u s congress u s lawmakers are gearing up for a showdown between protectionists and free traders as a major trade bill winds its way through committees to a vote by the full house of representatives in late april in a move to toughen u s enforcement of trade laws a key house subcommittee last week approved a toned down version of legislation to require president reagan to retaliate against foreign countries that follow unfair trade practices this bill will be the cornerstone of congressional efforts to restore competitiveness of american industries and turn around last year s record billion dlrs trade deficit several lawmakers have argued the new trade bill made too many concessions to reagan and said they intend to back amendments to get tough with countries that violate trade agreements or keep out u s products on the other hand congressmen known for their allegiance to free trade said the bill ties reagan s hands too much in trade disputes and they will seek to restore his negotiating powers republican bill frenzel of michigan said the subcommittee s bill was not one that a free trader like me could endorse in all respects but he emphasized there was a consensus among trade lawmakers to work toward a bill reagan and republicans would ultimately endorse frenzel said the goal of trade legislation was to make our trade policy stronger without violating our international trade agreements you ll find a lot of people who think we have not done the former enough you ll find poeple who think we haven t avoided violating agreements in a key concession made at the urging of the powerful chairman of the house ways and means committee the trade subcommittee backed off a requirement that would have forced reagan to automatically impose quotas or tariffs on imports from countries that engage in unfair trade practices it also agreed he may waive any retaliation if it would hurt the u s economy ways and means chairman dan rostenkowski an illinois democrat insisted the more moderate approach was necessary if the house wanted to pass a bill reagan would sign into law reagan last year had blocked senate consideration of a tough house trade bill he branded as protectionist and this year only reluctantly agreed to support a trade bill when he saw democratic leaders were determined to pass a bill as an indication of his success white house spokesman marlin fitzwater told reporters friday the administration still did not like some provisions but he added generally we feel very good about the bipartisan consideration of the trade legislation i think we are progressing very well the first battle will take place next week when the full house ways and means committee considers an amendment by rep richard gephardt a missouri democrat to force countries such as japan south korea and taiwan to cut their trade surpluses with the united states the subcommittee limited the gephardt plan to provide only that the existence of a large trade surplus with the united states will trigger an investigation of unfair trade practices but would not automatically set off retaliation rep phil crane an illinois republican and staunch free trader said he will try to further weaken the gephardt plan organized labor has pressed lawmakers for more relief from imports where jobs have been lost to foreign competition afl cio president lane kirkland this year angered the administration in a statement that any trade bill reagan would sign would not be worth passage in congress but rostenkowski set the tone of the trade debate in a statement i m not trying to write legislation to please lane kirkland i m trying to write legislation that will be signed by the president in writing the bill the subcommittee rejected calls for trade relief for specific industries such as textiles rep ed jenkins a democrat from georgia agreed to hold off his fight he intends to push separately a bill to protect the domestic textile and shoe industry an aide said reagan vetoed a similar measure last year house speaker jim wright a texas democrat is one of the most influential proponents of aid for specific industries beset by low priced foreign competition wright thursday renewed his call for import relief for the domestic oil industry and announced his support for a senate plan to trigger a temporary oil import tariff when imports reach half of domestic consumption for the most part the trade bill s provisions toughen u s enforcement of trade laws the bill forces the administration to act rapidly on complaints of unfair trade practices such as dumping products in the united states at prices below the cost of production it also forces the administration to act rapidly when an industry complains that a surge in imports threatens its existence congressmen said the change would have required the u s international trade commission to impose limits on car imports in reuter 
economic spotlight ems marks eighth birthday the european monetary system marks its eighth anniversary still vulnerable to turmoil in world money markets despite creating an island of currency rate stability in europe economists say but many economists say the system which holds eight european community currencies within narrow fluctuation bands remains in its infancy its new currency the european currency unit ecu has been a runaway success with investors and borrowers alike seeking an alternative to the volatile dollar and on wednesday the long term vision of the ecu as europe s common currency took a step nearer to becoming reality when belgium minted the world s first ecu coin but economists say members such as west germany have so far blocked a second stage of development envisaged by the system s founding fathers ex west german chancellor helmut schmidt and former french president valery giscard d estaing under this phase originally due to have started two years after the ems was set up decision making was to have been transferred from national governments and central banks to an autonomous european monetary fund but members have jealously guarded their sovereignty in economic and monetary matters the basic problem of the ems is that governments are not prepared to make the quantum leap to a situation where certain decisions are taken in common said one economist who has closely watched the system s development the result is that the ec is often divided over policy on third currencies accentuating what the economists say is the system s greatest weakness its vulnerability to a weak dollar over the past months as the u s dollar plunged and investors moved into strong currencies the resulting sharp rise of the west german mark severely strained the system another frustration has been britain s failure to lend the ems political support by keeping the pound still a major world currency outside the system no change in the british government s attitude is expected before the country s next general elections due by mid meanwhile the system s last realignment the th since it was set up prompted european finance ministers to ask the ec s highly secretive monetary committee and committee of central bank governors to come up with suggestions for reinforcing it their ideas are due to be unveiled when finance ministers hold an informal meeting in belgium early next month but economists said the proposals are unlikely to involve more than tinkering with technical details they are sceptical about the chances for any fundamental change technical measures won t be enough to protect the ems against external factors such as dollar weakness for that we must take the step forward to the institutional level said leo de corel of kredietbank s economic research department economists say the system s fortunes now will depend largely on the success of an agreement last month among major industrial nations to stabilise exchange rates if the dollar resumes its slide the ems could be in for more turbulence they predict reuter 
fed says it sets three day system repurchase agreements 
canada prime minister says a major trade deal emerging with u s 
french adjusted february trade deficit mln francs vs january deficit billion 
canada s mulroney says u s trade deal nears prime minister brian mulroney said significant progress was being made in trade talks with the united states and a profile of a major deal was emerging opening a debate on free trade in the house of commons mulroney said an accord would create thousands of jobs in canada and bring greater economic prosperity to both countries mulroney who offered few new details of the talks said that while the negotiations were risky and difficult a profile of a major trade deal is now emerging in a minute address mulroney made an often passionate defense of the initiative that he said would give poorer areas of the country a major economic boost because of our trading patterns over a period of decades we are in the process of building two canadas one that is rich and promising one that is under developed and under employed said mulroney what we want is to make sure newfoundlanders and british columbians and albertans and others that they get their chance they must be given the opportunity to trade their way to prosperity few detials have been released on the trade talks which were launched nearly two years ago between the two nations that are each others most important trading partners recent published reports in canada quoting senior trade sources said the countries were close to reaching a trade deal and it will involve eliminating border trariffs and many non tariff barriers over the next to years it has been reported a key stumbling block in the talks is a canadian proposal to find a new way to settle trade disputes something that would give canada protection from washington s tough trade remedy laws but mulroney sharply critical of protectionist sentiment in the u s said canada was a fair trader and denied the government was pursuing the deal to win unfair access to the american market he said a trade deal must bring benefits to both sides we recognize a good deal must be a fair deal one that is fair to both sides mulroney said reuter 
france reduces trade deficit in february france posted a seasonally adjusted trade deficit of mln francs in february after a billion franc deficit in january the finance ministry said for the first two months of this year the trade deficit on a seasonally adjusted basis was billion francs unadjusted the february deficit was billion francs and the two month cumulative deficit billion the ministry said in a statement the ministry said february exports totalled billion francs an pct increase on january while imports totalled billion francs an increase of pct farm and food trade showed a two billion franc surplus after a surplus of billion in january the energy deficit was reduced to billion francs from eight billion in january while industrial trade showed a surplus of billion francs against only mln francs in january reuter 
trade interests ready for battle in u s house u s lawmakers are gearing up for a showdown between protectionists and free traders as a major trade bill winds its way through committees to a vote by the full house of representatives in late april in a move to toughen u s enforcement of trade laws a key house subcommittee last week approved a toned down version of legislation to require president reagan to retaliate against foreign countries that follow unfair trade practices the bill will be the cornerstone of congressional efforts to restore competitiveness of american industries and turn around last year s record billion dlrs trade deficit generally the bill s provisions toughen u s enforcement of trade laws the trade bill forces the administration to act rapidly on complaints of unfair trade practices such as dumping products in the united states at prices below cost of production it also forces the administration to act rapidly when an industry complains that a surge in imports threatens its existence in writing the bill the subcommittee rejected calls for trade relief for specific industries such as textiles several lawmakers have argued the new trade bill made too many concessions to reagan and said they intend to back amendments to get tough with countries that violate trade agreements or keep out u s products but congressmen known for their allegiance to free trade said the bill ties reagan s hands too much in trade disputes and they will seek to restore his negotiating powers bill frenzel r mi said the subcommittee s bill was not one that a free trader like me could endorse in all respects but he emphasized there was a consensus among lawmakers to work toward a bill reagan and republicans would ultimately endorse the goal of trade legislation was to make our trade policy stronger without violating our international trade agreements he said in a key concession made at the urging of ways and means committee chairman dan rostenkowski d il the trade subcommittee backed off a requirement that would have forced reagan to impose automatically quotas or tariffs on imports from countries that engage in unfair trade practices it also agreed the president may waive any retaliation if it would hurt the u s economy rostenkowski insisted the more moderate approach was necessary if the house wanted to pass a bill reagan would sign into law reagan last year blocked senate consideration of a tough house trade bill he branded as protectionist and this year he only reluctantly agreed to support a trade bill when he saw democratic leaders were determined to pass such legislation white house spokesman marlin fitzwater told reporters late last week that the administration still did not like some of the bill s provisions but he added generally we feel very good about the bipartisan consideration of the trade legislation i think we are progressing very well the first battle will take place next week when the full house ways and means committee considers an amendment by rep richard gephardt d mo to force countries like japan south korea and taiwan to cut their trade surpluses with the u s the subcommittee limited the gephardt plan to provide only that the existence of a large trade surplus with the united states will trigger an investigation of unfair trade practices but would not automatically set off retaliation organized labor has pressed lawmakers for more relief from imports where jobs have been lost to foreign competition afl cio president lane kirkland this year angered the administration when he said any trade bill reagan would sign would not be worth passage in congress but rostenkowski set the tone of the trade debate by saying i m not trying to write legislation to please lane kirkland i m trying to write legislation that will be signed by the president rep ed jenkins d ga intends to push separately a bill to protect the domestic textile and shoe industry an aide said reagan vetoed a similar measure last year house speaker jim wright of texas one of the most influential proponents of aid for specific industries beset by low priced foreign competition last week renewed his call for import relief for the domestic oil industry and announced his support for a senate plan to trigger a temporary oil import tariff when imports reach half of domestic consumption reuter 
brazil trade surplus rises in february the trade surplus doubled in february to mln dlrs from january s mln but was below the mln of february official figures show the director of the banco do brasil s foreign trade department cacex roberto fendt told reporters the upturn in february confirmed a rising trend in exports which totalled billion dlrs against billion in january and after excluding coffee and oil derivitives was only slightly below the same month last year coffee earnings were down to mln dlrs against mln in february because of lower prices he added fendt said that although the february results were lower than the average expected for the rest of the year the government s target of an eight billion dlr surplus for should be achieved this would compare with a surplus of billion dlrs exports this year are expected to total billion dlrs and imports billion he added in exports totalled billion dlrs and imports billion fendt said the rise in imports in february to billion dlrs from billion in february last year was in line with government plans to foster economic growth fendt said that imports were running at levels well above the traditional average for brazil in the first two months of the year imports excluding oil and wheat totalled billion dlrs against billion in the same period this rise in import demand reflected the needs of brazilian industry to equip to raise production and is perfectly compatible with the government s program for economic growth fendt added reuter 
brazil s trade surplus doubled in february brazil s trade surplus doubled in february to mln dlrs from january s mln but was well below the mln dlrs of february last year official figures show director of the banco do brasil s foreign trade department cacex roberto fendt told reporters the upturn in february confirmed a rising trend in exports which totalled billion dlrs against billion in january and after excluding coffee and oil derivatives was only slightly below the same month last year coffee earnings were down to mln dlrs against mln in february because of lower prices he added fendt said although the february results were lower than the average expected for the rest of the year the government s target of an eight billion dlr surplus for should be achieved this would compare with a surplus of billion dlrs exports this year are expected to total billion dlrs and imports billion he added in exports totalled billion dlrs and imports billion fendt said the rise in imports in february to billion dlrs from billion in february last year was in line with government plans to foster economic growth fendt said imports were running at levels well above the traditional average for brazil imports in the first two months of the year excluding oil and wheat totalled billion dlrs against billion in the same period this rise reflected industry s need for equipment to raise production and is perfectly compatible with the government s program for economic growth fendt added reuter 
british farm minister attacks subsidies farm subsidies and protectionist moves threaten healthy trade on both sides of the atlantic michael jopling british minister of agriculture fisheries and food warned it would not be sensible to provoke another dispute between europe and the united states jopling said in remarks prepared for an evening speech but some things are clear and they apply on both sides of the atlantic we cannot continue to pile up stocks while world demand shrinks he said governments must not operate farm policies as if they were purely domestic affairs with no impact on others they also have to recognize that they cannot in the long run develop a healthy and stable farm sector on the basis of protectionism and excessive subisdies and above all europe and the united states have too many common interests to make it worthwhile to engage in trade wars and competitive export subsidies which end by benefitting no one he added it is crucial that the united states and the european community remain friends jopling who is a member of the ec agriculture committee was in indiana to visit several farms prior to talks with u s officials in washington later this week jopling also criticized a recent proposal still under consideration by the ec for a tax on vegetable and fish oils he said his government would oppose such a move because we do not think it is correct that a shortage of funds to support ec farmers should be alleviated by raising money at the consumer s expense reuter 
ec warns u s and japan on trade tensions the european community ec delivered warnings to both japan and the united states over trade frictions which have hit relations between the community and its main trading partners ec foreign ministers meeting here issued a statement deploring japan s continued trade imbalance and appealed for greater effort by the country to open its markets ministers also issued a statement saying they were disturbed by moves in the u s to limit imports of textiles and warned that the community would react to any such moves ec external trade commissioner willy de clercq has already written to his u s counterpart special u s trade representative clayton yeutter outlining the ec s concerns the ministers said they were very disturbed by the u s moves adding the adoption of such measures would not fail to have a negative effect on the process of multilateral negotiations just started as well as on bilateral relations any unilateral u s moves would leave the ec no option but to react according to the laws of the world trade body the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt they said in a separate statement on japan the ec ministers said they deplore the continued aggravation of the imbalance in trade and expect japan to open up its market more the statement added that the ec continued to insist that the japanese government must boost imports and stimulate demand ministers also called on the european commission to prepare a report on u s japanese trade for july this year to enable them to take action where necessary one diplomat said the call for a report showed ministers were determined not to let the japanese question drop it wil be back on the table again and again the diplomat said de clercq told journalists there is a certain nervousness a growing impatience within the community on trade relations with japan but diplomats said the community is keen to continue talking with tokyo to try and solve the problem rather than embark on a costly and damaging trade war reuter 
study predicts u s dependence on foreign oil a government study has concluded the u s will be dependent on oil from the middle east into the next century and must take steps to reduce its vulnerability the new york times said the newspaper said the inter agency government study found a serious oil dependency problem due to steadily falling domestic production and rising demand for imported oil the study concluded that by the u s will be relying on foreign countries for pct of its oil more than the peak of pct reached in and far above the pct rate during the arab oil embargo the u s now imports about pct of its oil needs up from pct a year ago the new york times said it said recommendations sent to the white house by energy secretary john harrington include financial incentives to raise domestic oil production by one mln barrels a day from the current mln barrels the newspaper said the administration has placed increased emphasis on stockpiling oil reserves it said the view now held is that the strategic petroleum reserve to be tapped in times of shortages should be increased by barrels a day rather than as called for in the budget the newspaper said harrington may propose restoring the depletion allowance to major producers the administration also plans to renew its efforts to repeal the windfall profits tax remove bars to drilling on the outer continental shelf and repeal the law that limits the use of natural gas in industrial and utility boilers it added the new york times quoted senator don nickles of oklahoma as saying the study greatly underestimated potential u s demand for imported oil in the next decade and overestimated the amount of domestic oil which would be produced reuter 
s korea says japan complains to gatt on trade plan japan has complained to the secretariat of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt that south korea s five year plan to cut its trade deficit with japan breaks gatt rules trade ministry officials here said they said japan submitted a report earlier this month alleging south korea s plan to import less from japan and more from the u s and elsewhere was tantamount to creating non tariff trade barriers south korea unveiled the plan in november it said it hoped to narrow its trade deficit with japan to two billion dlrs by south korea s trade deficit with japan was a record billion dlrs in and rose to mln dlrs in the first two months of from mln in the same period the plan envisages giving incentives to importers not to import japanese goods and to exporters to sell more to japan the officials said they believed the japanese action one step short of filing a suit was designed to bring south korea to the negotiating table and stop the plan the seoul government wants tokyo to ease various import restrictions and simplify customs inspections for south korean goods to help reduce the trade deficit reuter 
u k money market deficit forecast at mln stg the bank of england said it forecast a shortage of around mln stg in the money market today among the main factors affecting liquidity bills maturing in official hands and the take up of treasury bills will drain some mln stg while banker s balances below target will take out around mln stg partly offsetting these outflows exchequer transactions and a fall in note circulation will add some mln stg and mln stg to the system respectively reuter 
japan says u s japan microchip pact working japanese officials sought to convince the u s that a u s japan pact on microchip trade is working ahead of an april deadline set by the u s for them to prove their case we are implementing the agreement in good faith and the situation does not run counter to the pact osamu watanabe director of the ministry of international trade and industry s miti americas and oceanic division told foreign reporters the effects of the measures we have taken and are taking are emerging in the market place he said u s trade officials have repeatedly accused japanese microchip makers of violating the pact by continuing to sell at below cost in markets outside japan and the united states the agreement signed last september aimed at halting predatory japanese pricing policies and increasing u s semiconductor firms access to the japanese market the comments by miti officials followed a call by prime minsiter yasuhiro nakasone to clear up any misunderstandings on the u s side about the pact watanabe said yukio honda director of miti s industrial electronics division denied that japanese chipmakers were selling at below cost in third countries miti s call to japanese chip makers last month to cut production of key memory chips in the first quarter of this year has begun to dry up the source of cheap chips for sale in the non regulated grey market honda said the grey market exports from japan are shrinking now but in contrast u s and south korean companies are expanding market share because of their cheaper prices honda said miti plans to take further steps to reduce the excess supply of inexpensive chips which developed in japan after the pact was formed because of a slump in japanese semiconductor exports to the united states he added the ministry will soon release its supply demand guidelines for the second quarter and suggested production volumes are likely to be lower than that for the first quarter he said despite businessmen s ingenuity in finding ways around any artificial controls regulation of supply and demand should bring positive results watanabe said i am optimistic he added reuter 
dollar seen falling unless japan spurs economy underlying dollar sentiment is bearish and operators may push the currency to a new low unless japan takes steps to stimulate its economy as pledged in the paris accord foreign exchange analysts polled by reuters said here the dollar is expected to try its psychological barrier of yen and to fall even below that level a senior dealer at one leading bank said the dollar has eased this week but remains stable at around yen six major industrial countries agreed at a meeting in paris in february to foster currency stability some dealers said the dollar may decline in the long term but a drastic fall is unlikely because of u s fears of renewed inflation and fears of reduced japanese purchases of u s treasury securities needed to finance the u s deficit dealers generally doubted whether any economic package japan could adopt soon would be effective enough to reduce its trade surplus significantly and said such measures would probably invite further u s steps to weaken the dollar under the paris accord tokyo promised a package of measures after the fiscal budget was passed to boost domestic demand increase imports and cut its trade surplus but debate on the budget has been delayed by an opposition boycott of parliamentary business over the proposed imposition of a five pct sales tax and the government has only a slim chance of producing a meaningful economic package in the near future the dealers said if no such steps are taken protectionist sentiment in the u s congress will grow putting greater downward pressure on the dollar they said the factors affecting the u s currency have not changed since before the paris accord they added underlying sentiment for the dollar remains bearish due to a still sluggish u s economic outlook the international debt crisis triggered by brazil s unilateral suspension of interest payments on its foreign debts and the reduced clout of the reagan administration as a result of the iran contra arms scandal said a senior dealer at a leading trust bank there is a possibility that the dollar may decline to around yen by the end of this year said chemical bank tokyo branch vice president yukuo takahashi but operators find it hard to push the dollar either way for fear of possible concerted central bank intervention dealers said there were widespread rumours that the u s federal reserve telephoned some banks in new york to ask for quotes last wednesday and even intervened to sell the dollar when it rose to marks the bank of england also apparently sold sterling in london when it neared dlrs on wednesday they said but other dealers said they doubted the efficacy of central bank intervention saying it may stimulate the dollar s decline because many dealers are likely to await such dollar buying intervention as a chance to sell dollars however first national bank of chicago tokyo branch assistant manager hiroshi mochizuki said the dollar will not show drastic movement at least to the end of march other dealers said the u s seems unwilling to see any strong dollar swing until japanese companies close their books for the fiscal year ending on march because a weak dollar would give japanese institutional investors paper losses on their foreign holdings which could make them lose interest in purchases of u s treasury securities u s monetary officials may refrain from making any comments this month to avoid influencing rates they said reuter 
ec warns u s and japan on trade tensions the european community ec yesterday warned japan and the united states its main trading partners that friction over trade issues is affecting the ec s relations with both countries ec foreign ministers issued a statement deploring japan s continued trade imbalance and appealed for the country to make a greater effort to open up its markets they also said they were disturbed by a draft bill before the u s congress that would impose permanent quotas on textile imports and were prepared to react the u s administration has already distanced itself from the bill ec external trade commissioner willy de clercq has written to his u s counterpart trade representative clayton yeutter outlining the ec s concerns the statement said ministers were very disturbed by u s moves towards protectionism the adoption of such measures would not fail to have a negative effect on the process of multilateral negotiations just started as well as on bilateral relations it said any unilateral u s moves would leave the ec no option but to react according to the laws of the general agreement on tariffs and trade it said in a separate statement on japan the ec ministers said they deplore the continued aggravation of the imbalance in trade and expect japan to open up its market more the statement said the ec would continue to insist that japan boost imports and stimulate domestic demand ministers also called on the ec commission to prepare a report on u s japanese trade for july this year to enable them to take appropriate action where necessary one diplomat said the call for a report showed ministers were determined not to let the japanese question drop it will be back on the table again and again the diplomat said de clercq talking to journalists during the meeting said there is a certain nervousness a growing impatience within the community concerning trade relations with japan but diplomats said the ec is keen to negotiate with tokyo to solve the problem rather than embark on a costly and damaging trade war and the ministers called for more cooperation with japan in industry and research reuter 
u k money market shortage forecast revised down the bank of england said it had revised its forecast of the shortage in the money market today down to mln stg from mln stg reuter 
japan alerts gatt to south korea import plan japan told the general agreement on tariffs and trade that south korea s five year import diversification plan violated the spirit of the world trade governing body a foreign ministry spokesman said the notification came in japan s answer to a recent gatt questionnaire on unfair trade practices the spokesman said in the five year plan which starts this year south korea aims to reduce its dependency on japan as a source of imported goods and to increase imports from the u s and europe japan s move came after several unsuccessful bilateral negotiations on the plan the spokesman said the notification does not represent anything resembling a formal complaint nor is it intended to pressure south korea it is a routine procedure followed by all other gatt member states reuter 
u k money market receives mln stg assistance the bank of england said it had provided the money market with mln stg help in the afternoon session the bank did not operate in the market in the morning and earlier revised its estimate of the shortage in the system today down to mln stg from mln the central bank purchased bills outright in band one at pct comprising two mln stg of local authority bills and mln stg of bank bills reuter 
u k money market given mln stg late help the bank of england said it provided the money market with late assistance of around mln stg this brings the bank s total help today to some mln stg and compares with its forecast of a mln stg shortage in the system reuter 
dutch official warns of more trade conflicts already strained relations between the u s and the european community ec are likely to get worse before they get better director general of the dutch economics ministry s foreign affairs division frans engering said speaking at an american chamber of commerce lunch in the hague engering noted the developing history of crises over steel citrus and pasta and warned of more to come i consider the strident tone of us declarations on airbus ill advised and the ec fats and oils tax proposal a dangerous provocation he said i feel that we shall probably have to deal with quite a few more crises in the foreseeable future not only is the us congress clearly very determined to get the american balance of payments into better shape but the risks of brinkmanship are all the greater because the ec has its own constraints in meeting outside pressure engering noted if we ask ourselves whether it is perhaps inevitable that we keep pushing each other to the brink of actual trade war then i think the answer is probably yes he said in order to reduce these tensions decision making in the ec must become less self centred and the us administration will have to exercise the authority to convince congress and pressure groups of the need for accommodation he added reuter 
u s treasury announces oecd tied aid pact u s treasury secretary james baker said an agreement has been reached by members of the organization for economic cooperation and development oecd to control the unfair trade practice of using tied aid to promote trade he said in a statement the agreement culminates the reagan administration s effot to negotiate a virtual end to export credit subsidies the practice of other governments using tied aid or mixed credits to promote exports has cost the united states lost jobs and lost exports the treasury said the agreement to be implemented in two stages by july would ban tied aid credit among industrialized countries and place limits on permitted aid by developing countries it would also reduce export credits that do not involve aid and reduce credit subsidies permitted for relatively poor countries the treasury said baker said the agreement imposes particular sacrifices on japan and praised japan s willingness to accept the pact as a demonstration of the japanese government s willingness to take concrete steps to resolve important trade issues reuter 
oecd agrees export credit reforms the western industrialised nations have agreed reforms in rules by which they provide credit for exports to developing countries the organisation for economic cooperation and development said the reforms tighten the rules for the use of foreign aid to subsidise export credits in so called mixed credits the oecd said the agreement to be implemented in two stages in july this year and july means the minimum aid component in mixed credits will be raised to pct from pct and to pct for credits covering exports to the world s least developed nations additionally a new formula will be used for calculating the aid element in mixed credits to take account of different interest rates in the exporting countries the nation oecd which hosted the reform negotiations said minimum interest rates for officially subsidised trade loans have also been revised with the aim of cutting the subsidies and ending them completely on loans to relatively rich developing countries by july next year the reforms follow several years of pressure by the u s to stop competitors notably france and japan using foreign aid to subsidise exports putting u s firms at a disadvantage oecd officials said the agreement was based on a provisional accord reached in january subject to ratification by member governments some governments including austria had linked their final approval to other trade credit issues which would be discussed at a meeting here in mid april they added by raising the minimum amount of aid required in mixed credits the agreement aims to make such hidden subsidies too costly for frequent use a major loophole in the general agreement on tariffs and trade has been closed today a senior u s official here commented reuter 
fed may supply reserves in the money markets there is a slightly better than even chance that the federal reserve will enter the u s government securities market to add temporary reserves economists said they said the fed would supply the reserves indirectly via around billion dlrs of customer repurchase agreements federal funds which averaged pct yesterday opened at pct and moved in a narrow range between there and six pct in early trading reuter 
shearson lehman upgrades u s oil stocks analyst sanford margoshes of shearson lehman brothers said he recommended a number of oil stocks today now that it is apparent that opec has succeeded in holding to its prescribed production quotas it is clear that opec through jawboning and quota restraint will boost the price of oil margoshes said prices of oil stocks rose sharply today in response to higher oil prices and optimism about opec quotas margoshes said he recommends imperial oil imo a up to standard oil co srd to exxon xon one to and chevron chv to in addition margoshes said he recommended atlantic richfield arc on a short term basis though he said he is still suspect about its debt situation atlantic richfield rose to he said the market could come down to test the dlr a barrel level again but the main thrust of investing in oil is positive right now before the year is out we will see higher oil prices he noted that belief that the government is interested in raising the strategic reserves is factored into the rise in oil stocks today reuter 
exxon xon may close one french refinery exxon corp the world s largest oil company said in a published interview today that it was reviewing its worldwide refinery operations and might decide to close on of its french refineries lee r raymond exxon s new president singled out the possibility of a closure of one of exxon s refineries in france during the interview an exxon spokeswoman confirmed that raymond had specifically mentioned refineries in france but said that no specific refinery had been named she also said that all of exxon s opertations were under constant review exxon currently has two refineries in france fos in the mediterranean with a capcity of barrels per day and port jerome west of paris with a similar capacity petroleum intelligence weekly an influential trade journal said in its current issue that they understood that exxon was looking at the possibility of refinery closures in antwerp southern france or possibly italy paul mlotok oil analyst with salomon brothers inc said that with the closures exxon made in in europe and the improvement in the european refining situation its future profits there should be good exxon and other major oil companies have closed a bunch of refineries in europe upgraded the rest and shaken many of the indepedents out of the market now with demand for products rising and efficient operations exxon should show superior earnings mlotok said just after royal dutch rd they are seen as one of the highest grade refiners in europe he added industry sources said that the oil companies were likely to feel greater pressure on their operations in southern europe where competition from the opec countries is increasing as these producers move further into downstream operations piw said that refiners in the mediterranean can expect increased shipments from saudi arabia and other opec export refineries piw said sales from libya algeria and elsewhere are expected to reclaim markets lost to italian and other european refiners as a result of the abundance of cheap netback oil last year reuter 
zambian exchange auction to resume at end of march zambia will reintroduce a modified foreign exchange auction at the end of this month as part of a new two tier exchange rate central bank governor leonard chivuno said chivuno told a press conference at the end of three weeks of negotiations with the international monetary fund imf that there would be a fixed exchange rate for official transactions and a fluctuating rate decided by the auction for other types of business the bank of zambia previously held weekly auctions to distribute foreign exchange to the private sector and determine the kwacha s exchange rate but these were suspended at the end of january president kenneth kaunda said at the time that he was suspending the auction system in view of the rapid devaluation and violent fluctations of the exchange rate which had resulted business and banking sources said another reason for suspending the auction was that the central bank was low on foreign exchange and was weeks behind in paying successful bidders the kwacha stood at per dollar when the auction system was first introduced in october but it slid to around per dollar by the time it was suspended months later since then zambia has operated a fixed exchange rate of about nine kwacha per dollar reuter 
lawson oil tax breaks to help new fields revenue two new u k tax relief measures for oil producers announced today are aimed at encouraging developments in the north sea to go ahead and boost opportunities for the offshore supplies industry the inland revenue said in a post budget statement earlier chancellor of the exchequer nigel lawson announced in his annual budget to parliament that from today companies will be allowed to offset up to pct of qualifying development expenditure on certain future oil fields against petroleum revenue tax prt to date full relief was allowed for expenditure on an individual field itself when its income stream began but was not immediately available against other development expenditure the statement said the new relief will apply to fields outside the southern basin for which development consent is first given on or after today and will improve the post tax economics of new developments and encourage companies to proceed with project which might have been delayed it said lawson also announced that he would henceforth allow certain expenditure on oil related research which does not at present qualify for prt relief to be offset against prt liability this means oil related expenditure in the u k or on the u k continental shelf which has not become allowable in a particular field within three years of being incurred to be allowed against prt liability in any oil field the inland revenue said this brings the scope of prt relief for research costs more in line with corporation tax relief measures and is planned to encourage general research into ways of reducing field development costs it said in due course the industry should benefit by over mln stg a year it calculated the inland revenue statement also included other technical measures that lawson did not comment on in his budget speech these included measures to allow companies to balance their shares of prt exempt oil allowances through reallocation in two past periods of allowance utilisation tidier rules on incorrectly allowed prt expenditure reliefs were announced while there were also ammendments on rules on corporation tax and advance corporation tax relating to the so called ring fence of activities in the u k and its continental shelf the finance bill will have provisions for the implementation of measures announced in november it said gareth lewis davies a north sea expert with stockbrokers wood mackenzie and co inc in edinburgh thought the two reliefs on prt would help the depressed offshore industry he said the pct cross field allowance relief would favour chances that development of smaller north sea fields such osprey don and arbroath would be brought forward early development of the larger miller and bruce oil fields might also be encouraged he said lewis davies said the measure might also aid the offshore construction industry which suffered a huge amount of lay offs under the price slump of more than pct last year he pointed out that the relief only applies to the development of new fields outside the southern basin this means more jobs could be created as the fields in the central and northern sectors of the north sea are deeper than in the south and thus have greater capital and labour requirements as the waters are deeper than in the south he said the prt relief for certain research expenditure would help fundamental research in the oil industry although the benefits of this research would not be seen for several year reuter 
plains plns posts reserves increases plains resources inc said that as of december its estimated proved oil and gas reserves rose by pct to mln barrels from mln barrels and proved developed reserves rose pct to four mln barrels from mln barrels a year ago the company said its year end reserves did not include the oil and gas reserves of houston oil fields co which recently agreed to merge with it pending shareholder approval in mid april if approved the merger will add another mln barrels to the company s reserve base reuter 
u s warns of dependence on foreign oil a white house ordered report said that growing u s reliance on foreign oil into the year could have potentially damaging implications for national security the energy department study discusses several options to curb reliance on foreign oil but makes no recommendations president reagan and most congressmen have previously ruled out a tax on foreign oil as a way to curb imports and to help the depressed domestic oil industry energy secretary john herrington said in a statement that although we have made gains in energy security in the last six years this report shows that there is justification for national concern both over declining competitiveness of our domestic oil and gas industry and over rising oil imports the report said imports last year were pct of u s consumption and by the mid s could rise to pct among the report s options to ease u s reliance on foreign oil are several already advocated by the reagan administration president reagan ordered the study last september citing a determination that the country never again become captive to a foreign oil cartel referring to the opec led oil shortages and sharp prices increases of the s the report said an import fee would raise prices and help make it economical for u s oil firms to find and produce new oil as well as to cut imports but on the whole the tax would depress the nation s economy reuter 
u s oil tax would not affect pdvsa champlin deal an eventual oil import fee in the united states will make no difference to champlin petroleum corp s joint venture agreement signed today with petroleos de venezuela pdvsa champlin chairman william adams said this was an aspect which was discussed at length during the negotiations but we can say our contract covers all eventualities in this regard he told reuters during the signing ceremony here venezuela s energy and mines minister arturo hernandez grisanti earlier described the agreement under which pdvsa buys pct of champlin s corpus christi refinery as one more step in the maturation and presence of our oil industry in world markets union pacific chairman william cook said the agreement will be beneficial to both sides combining a secure source of supply with a modern refinery and access to markets we are looking to a long term relationship and at a time of protectionist tendencies in the u s congress there are clear benefits to both sides he said adams said pdvsa crude would remain competitive even with an oil import fee because champlin had invested heavily over the years in adapingthe texas refinery to process venezuelan heavy crudes with coking and hydro treating facilities and obtain a competitive product yield therefore while the danger of an oil import fee has been a consideration in the negotiations and it remains to be seen what such a fee would represent we do not foresee any impact on today s agreement adams said he said the refinery could run crude as heavy as venezuela s bolivar coastal field bcf api without any difficultiesand would probably move over time to a heavier diet to take advantage of bigger margins the refinery has a capacity to process up to bpd of venezuelan high sulphur content heavy crude with an pct yield of white products reuter 
gulf arab ministers discuss economic cooperation finance and economy ministers of the gulf cooperation council gcc opened a two day meeting to discuss further economic integration officials said they said issues to be discussed by the ministers from bahrain kuwait oman qatar saudi arabia and the united arab emirates uae would include a recommendation by central bank governors on a common currency exchange rate the governors agreed in january on a denominator on which to base currencies of the six states any decision will be forwarded for final approval to a gcc summit meeting due in saudi arabia late this year the six states have different currency systems saudi arabia bahrain qatar and the uae are linked in theory to the international monetary fund s basket of currencies the special drawing right sdr but in practice to the dollar oman links its currency formally to the dollar while kuwait pegs its dinar to a trade weighted basket devised by itself the denominator chosen by central bank governors has not been disclosed but some bankers expect the currencies to be linked to the sdr or a trade weighted basket opening the meeting ahmed al tayer the uae s minister of state for finance and industry said implementation of joint economic agreements is increasingly linking the interests of gcc citizens together the general assembly of the gulf investment corporation met in abu dhabi earlier under the chairmanship of bahrain s finance and national economy minister ibrahim abdul karim the corporation was formed to contribute to joint economic and investment projects in the gcc officials said the corporation s assets rose to billion dollars last year from billion at the end of reuter 
herrington says he may recommend tax benefits for u s oil industry 
herrington says he may call for oil tax benefits energy secretary john herrington said he may recommend to the white house that the domestic oil industry be given tax benefits to help it produce more oil and head off increasing u s dependence on foreign oil he said also at a news conference that he would recommend to the white house that the fill rate of the strategic petroleum reserve be increased from its planned barrels per day the oil reserve fill rate capacity is barrels a day herrington said he had always advocated a greater fill rate for the petroleum reserve but the rate had been kept down because of budgetary constraints herrington did not disclose what tax incentives he might advocate but u s officials have shown interest in tax benefits for oil and gas exploration and for research and development into new ways to extract oil which is now considered uneconomical to produce he made the remarks in conjunction with the release of the energy department s study on oil s impact on national security herrington said that before he disclosed what recommendations for tax benefits for the oil and gas industry he might make he would raise the matter with the white house economic policy committee to see if the proposals to increase oil production made good tax policy he said he would like to increase u s production by one mln barrels a day the report said that by the end of the century the united states may be relying on foreign sources for pct of its oil consumption posing a serious economic and national security threat reuter 
wainco oil wol completes wildcat well wainco oil corp said it has completed a wildcat well on its grandmarais prspect in jefferson davis parish la which is currently producing at a rate of mln cubic feet of gas and barrels of condensate daily the company said it has a pct working interest in the well which is flowing from lower frion tweedel sand perforations between and feet additional untested but possibly productive zones exist behind the pipe it added it said the remaining owners are privately held petroleum companies reuter 
u s warns of dependence on foreign oil a white house ordered report said that growing u s reliance on foreign oil into the year could have potentially damaging implications for national security the energy department study discusses several options to curb reliance on foreign oil but makes no recommendations president reagan and most congressmen have previously ruled out a tax on foreign oil as a way to curb imports and to help the depressed domestic oil industry energy secretary john herrington said in a statement that although we have made gains in energy security in the last six years this report shows that there is justification for national concern both over declining competitiveness of our domestic oil and gas industry and over rising oil imports the report said imports last year were pct of u s consumption and by the mid s could rise to pct among the report s options to ease u s reliance on foreign oil are several already advocated by the reagan administration president reagan ordered the study last september citing a determination that the country never again become captive to a foreign oil cartel referring to the opec led oil shortages and sharp prices increases of the s the report said an import fee would raise prices and help make it economical for u s oil firms to find and produce new oil as well as to cut imports but on the whole the tax would depress the nation s economy the study was outlined in a new york times report today reuter 
opec wants dlr oil price oapec official opec believes world oil prices should be set around a fixed average price of dlrs a barrel oapec assistant general secretary abdelaziz al wattari said today in a speech to a european community ec oapec opec seminar in luxembourg released here al wattari said opec believes the world energy trade should be kept without restrictions and should be built around a fixed average price of dlrs but he warned that defense of the dlr a barrel level had caused hardship for opec countries who had been forced to curtail production and he warned that such cutbacks by opec states could not be sustained in some cases for opec to stabilize the world oil price at what is now considered the optimal level of dlrs a barrel its member countries have had to undergo severe hardship in curtailing production al wattari said such cutbacks cannot in certain cases be sustained al wattari said as well as financial and marketing pressures some states depended on associated gas output for domestic use and oil cutbacks had left insufficient gas supplies he added al wattari noted that total opec output was below the organization s agreed ceiling for all member countries in february although this had meant sacrifices the effect of these sacrifices meant that market stability though restored to a good level was still under pressure al wattari said a lasting stability in the world market requires a wider scope of international cooperation he added he said some non opec oil producing countries had shown a political willingness after to cooperate with opec but although cutbacks announced by these states were politically significant and welcomed by opec they were insufficient in terms of volume he added the overall majority of non opec producers have not responded sufficiently to opec s calls for supply regulation he said al wattari said an dlr a barrel price was optimal as it allowed investment in the oil industry outside opec to continue while not generating excessive cash flow for otherwise unviable high cost areas outside opec such a price would no longer encourage protectionist measures he added fadhil al chalabi opec deputy secretary general also addressing the seminar added that discipline was still needed to prevent violent fluctuations in the oil market cooperation between arab states and europe was advantageous for both sides al chalabi said adding he hoped cooperation would ultimately lead to full fledged euro arab dialogue reuter 
venezuela ecuador oil loan under discussion venezuela has still to work out final details of its plan to supply ecuador with barrels per day of crude oil to compensate that country for lost exports caused by earthquake damage a senior petroleos de venezuela pdvsa official said we have yet to finalize details on how the compensation will be carried out and how opec production quotas will be affected he said during the signing of a joint venture deal with union pacific corp today he said an agreement was initialled on a visit last week by ecuador s deputy energy minister fernando santos alvite he pointed out that there are some contractual points to be considered venezuela possibly unique among oil exporters requires its clients to sign final destination clauses to ensure its oil is not resold on the spot market ecuador s oil minister javier espinosa was quoted today as saying venezuela will export the oil on ecuador s account and remit the revenues to quito ecuador would pay back the oil at a rate of bpd he said venezuela s oil would be traded through ecuadorean state oil company cepe but the pdvsa official said the company never allows third parties to trade its oil reuter 
u k oil revenue forecast to fall in the u k government forecasts that oil revenues will fall to four billion stg in the fiscal year from billion in and billion in the forecast came in the treasury s financial statement and budget report issued after the chancellor of the exchequer nigel lawson s annual budget statement to parliament the government is assuming the price of oil will average dlrs a barrel in line with its earlier forecasts and its oil revenue calculation is based on an exchange rate remaining close to current levels the treasury document said the treasury said the oil revenue shortfall will reflect the oil price fall of as north sea corporation tax is paid after a time lag the statement calculated that a one dlr a barrel difference in oil prices this year will change revenue by about mln stg for the current fiscal year and mln stg in a full year oil production is forecast to fall slightly in according to the statement a change in one mln tonnes in production would alter revenue by about mln stg in and mln stg in a full year it added total general government receipts for are now estimated to be billion stg billion more than the budget forecasts and above the autumn statement forecasts despite a shortfall of billlion in oil receipts additional non north sea corporation tax of billion stg and vat of mln stg account for the bulk of the overshoot total general government receipts were forecast to rise to billion stg in fiscal and among the main items besides diminishing oil revenues were projected income tax of billion stg up from billion in the current year non north sea corporation tax is forecast to bring in billion stg in after the revised billion in and vat revenue should amount to billion compared with upwardly revised estimated billion this fiscal year the general government expenditure for the coming fiscal year is expected to total billion stg up from a revised billion in the current year a repayment of mln on public corporations market and overseas borrowings is forecast to bring the total public sector borrowing requirement down to billion stg in from this year s revised billion the treasury said reuter 
opec wants dlr oil price oapec official opec believes world oil prices should be set around a fixed average price of dlrs a barrel oapec assistant general secretary abdelaziz al wattari said in a speech to a european community oapec opec seminar in luxembourg released here al wattari said opec believes the world energy trade should be kept without restrictions and should be built around a fixed average price of dlrs al wattari noted that total opec output was below the organization s agreed ceiling for all member countries in february although this had meant sacrifices the effect of these sacrifices meant that market stability though restored to a good level was still under pressure al wattari said a lasting stability in the world market requires a wider scope of international cooperation he said reuter 
senator says energy report assumptions flawed sen pete domenici a main sponsor of legislation to set an oil import fee said the administration s energy security report was based on flawed economic assumptions the new mexico republican said the report did not take into account the last few weeks drop in domestic oil production in its statement that an oil fee would raise prices for consumers the report said a decline in economic growth as a result of the fee would reduce tax revenues a five dlr per barrel oil import fee will provide the stimulus to create jobs and investment and raise revenues he said reuter 
api says distillate stocks off mln bbls gasoline off mln crude off mln 
api says distillate gas stocks off in week distillate fuel stocks held in primary storage fell by mln barrels in the week ended march to mln barrels from a revised mln the previous week the american petroleum institute api said in its weekly statistical bulletin the oil industry trade group said gasoline stocks fell mln barrels to mln barrels from a revised mln and crude oil stocks dropped mln barrels to mln from a revised mln it said residual fuel stocks fell barrels to mln from mln barrels api said refinery runs in the week rose to mln barrels per day bpd from a revised mln and refinery use of operating capacity was pct up from a revised pct crude oil imports in the week rose to mln bpd from a revised mln api added reuter 
kuwait says no opec member violating output quota kuwaiti oil minister sheikh ali al khalifa al sabah said in a newspaper interview that no opec member was exceeding oil production quotas allocated by the nation group sheikh ali told kuwait s daily al anba all opec states without exception are producing within the quotas allocated to them some of them are producing less some oil industry sources had said the united arab emirates which had been generally been producing over its quota since opec returned to quotas last september was still pumping more than its allotted amount in the first months of this year ecuador had also publicly stated it was over its quota but an earthquake early this month stopped that iraq has rejected its quota but oil sources say it may be having problems marketing at official prices all the oil it wants to sell opec agreed in december to cut overall oil production by pct to mln barrels per day bpd for the first six months of this year and abide by fixed prices around dlrs a barrel from february reuter 
texaco tx to cease posting texas oil price texaco refining and marketing an operating subsidiary of texaco inc said it would cease to post crude oil prices for west texas crudes at the end of this month following a decision to discontinue purchase of crude oil from leases a texaco spokesman in houston said but it will continue to purchase quantities of u s and foreign crude oil for use in its refinery system he added the spokesman also said texaco trading and transport inc would continue to acquire and market texaco lease production as well as other lease production the company will continue to post a louisiana price it said reuter 
malaysia to cut oil output further traders say malaysia s state oil company petronas will cut oil production to barrels per day bpd from may trade sources said malaysia cut its bpd target output by pct last september to support opec moves to boost prices and the latest cut would reduce output by pct from s target level petronas said in february that malaysia would maintain its pct production cutback until mid however the finance ministry said in its annual report that malaysia s crude oil output was expected to rise to an average bpd in the ministry s forecast assumed average crude prices at dlrs barrel bbl but prices have risen enough to permit further production cutbacks the sources said malaysia s benchmark tapis blend fetched above dlrs bbl this year against a low of dlrs bbl in july they said traders said further reductions by malaysia would add to the tight spot availabilities of asian grades caused by reduced indonesian and chinese crude output the cutback will also help malaysia maintain prices as there is concern some buyers want to reduce term purchases due to the availability of cheaper alternatives the sources said in addition to term sales petronas has been offering two to three bbl spot cargoes of malaysian crude each month for sale through tender the sources said however this practice is likely to dwindle given the reduced scale of production they said 
bankers trust issuing stg dlr currency warrants bankers trust international ltd said it is issuing stg call dlr put currency warrants at an initial offer price of dlrs per warrant the issue is guaranteed by bankers trust new york corp each warrant entitles the holder to exchange dlrs for stg at a rate of stg dlr and the minimum number of warrants exercisable or tradeable is exercise period for the warrants will run from april until march payment is due april reuter 
rotterdam signs cooperation agreement with tokyo the city of rotterdam today signed an agreement in principle to cooperate with the aomi cargo distribution centre in tokyo acting mayor roel den dunnen said that cooperation between private and public entities in the tokyo and rotterdam area and a fruitful exchange of information have a favourable influence on the flow of goods and services between the two countries the aomi cargo distribution center which will start operating in october this year signed a similar agreement with rotterdam s twinned port of seattle last september reuter 
gulf arab states move towards economic integration finance and economy ministers of the six nation gulf cooperation council gcc have ended talks after adopting resolutions and recommendations aimed at boosting economic integration but the ministers from bahrain kuwait oman qatar saudi arabia and the united arab emirates uae did not endorse a resolution on a common currency exchange rate system the uae s minister of state for finance and industry ahmed humaid al tayer told reporters after the two day talks that the ministers referred the issue back to gcc central bank governors for further discussion he said the governors who agreed in january on a proposed denominator on which the six currencies should be based were asked to resubmit the recommendation before july when finance ministers were due to meet in saudi arabia bankers said the central bank governors would meet soon to discuss the issue adding there was a possibility that a new system could be submitted for final approval to a gcc summit conference scheduled to be held in saudi arabia late this year the denominator approved by the governors has not been made public but banking sources said it could be similar to the european monetary system ems tayer said the ministers agreed in principle to allow gcc citizens to set up businesses and work in any member state they also agreed in principle on a recommendation for citizens to buy and own shares of gcc shareholding firms he said the ministers discussed a report on imported goods containing radiation caused by last year s chernobyl nuclear disaster in the soviet union and agreed all products with excessive levels should be returned to the country of origin reuter 
doe secretary favors higher spr fill rate energy secretary john herrington said he believes the reagan administration will review its decision to cut the fill rate of the strategic petroleum reserve because of a department report issued yesterday warning of growing u s dependence on oil imports as part of this study i think the administration will take the fill rate under review herrington said at a house energy subcommittee hearing the administration has proposed cutting the fill rate from barrels of oil per day to bpd in fiscal year to save money my personal feeling is that is too low i favor the maximum fill rate of bpd herrington said reuter 
u s oil tax break proposal to be examined the white house said a proposal for a tax break for the oil industry would undergo review spokesman marlin fitzwater said president reagan had no position on recommendations submitted by energy secretary john herrington to encourage investment in the hard hit domestic oil industry but fitzwater noted that reagan did have a fundamental objection to tax rises and special tax breaks he said that even though herrington s recommendation did not agree with existing policy we ll take a look at it the review will be undertaken by the president s domestic policy council herrington s proposal was reported by the washington post to have been made in a letter to reagan submitting a study that found the united states would be importing half of its oil by the s threatening u s national security reuter 
ec warns congress on new trade bill the european community ec has warned the u s house of representatives that tough trade legislation it is considering could prompt retaliation by u s trading partners the warning was sent in a letter from sir roy denman head of the ec delegation in washington to dan rostenkowski chairman of the house ways and means committee a copy of the letter was made available to reuters denman told rostenkowski an illinois democrat he backed aspects of the bill such as one backing new talks under the gatt and one excluding protection for the textile industry but denman disagreed with other provisions which would require president reagan to take retaliatory trade action against nations with large trade surpluses with the u s and would set new standards for judging unfair foreign trade practices denman told rostenkowski that gatt regulations prohibit member nations from taking unilateral retaliatory action in trade disputes unless the action is gatt approved he said if the congress makes retaliatory action mandatory then the united states would be in violation of its international legal obligations and on a collision course with its major trading partners denman added that a president should have flexibility in enforcing trade laws saying in the last resort any administration must take its decision in light of the overall national interest otherwise he said the risk would be counter reaction by trading partners of the united states i e retaliation or enactment of mirror image legislation to be employed against imports from the united states denman also said congress could prompt retaliation if it reduced the threshhold of unfair trade by making it easier for firms to file unfair trade practice claims retaliation could also be prompted by relaxing standards for findings that imports were injuring u s firms changes in these standards must be agreed upon multilaterally they cannot be imposed by the united states alone on the world trading system he said house leaders have rejected a plan by textile state legislators to add to the trade bill a provision to curb imports of cloth and clothing similar to a measure passed two years ago but vetoed by president reagan there was concern by the leaders that reagan would veto the entire trade bill because of the textile amendment reuter 
doe secretary proposes oil tax incentives energy secretary john herrington said he will propose tax incentives to increase domestic oil and natural gas exploration and production to the reagan administration for consideration these options boost production while avoiding the huge costs associated with proposals like an oil import fee herrington told a house energy subcommittee hearing it is my intention to submit these proposals to the domestic policy council and the cabinet for consideration and review the goal of the administration policies is to increase domestic production i would like to shoot for one mln barrels a day he said the proposals were based on a doe study released yesterday warning the united states was threatened by a growing dependence on oil imports we project free world dependence on persian gulf oil at pct by herrington said reuter 
peru short term trade lines rise to mln dlrs peru s short term foreign trade credit lines have more than doubled to mln dlrs under president alan garcia s month administration central bank general manager hector neyra told reporters that many of the credits were for day terms and could be used several times a year the trade credits stood at million dollars when garcia took office on july and announced foreign debt payments would be limited to pct of export earnngs neyra told reuters that peru was current on interest payments on short term debt including the trade credit lines and on about million dollars in so called working capital credits neyra did not specify the source of the trade credit lines reuter 
no immediate plans to close refinery esso saf esso saf essf pa the french subsidiary of exxon corp xon said it had no immediate plans to shut down one of its two refineries exxon s new president lee r raymond said earlier that it could decide to close a french refinery an esso saf spokesman said a closure was a hypothesis that depended on the evolution of the market and refineries ability to make money he said port jerome west of paris and fos sur mer on the mediterranean had benefitted from new investment over and had last year broken even after stock losses the port jerome refinery has an annual production capacity of seven mln tonnes while fos sur mer s is five mln the spokesman added industry sources said the easiest plant to dispose of would be fos sur mer because it is a single refinery while the port jerome refinery is attached to a wider complex comprising a petrochemical plant and a lubricant production plant raymond was quoted as saying in a published interview that exxon was reviewing its worldwide refinery operations and might decide to close one of its french refineries reuter 
peru short term trade credit up to mln dlrs peru s short term foreign trade credit lines regarded as vital to ensure smooth foreign commercial transactions have more than doubled to mln dollars under the month government of president alan garcia central bank general manager hector neyra told reporters many of the credits were day trade credits were mln dlrs when garcia took office in announcing a tough stance limiting foreign debt repayments to pct of export earnings neyra told reuters peru was current on interest payments on short term debt including trade credit lines and on about mln dlrs in so called working capital credits trade credit lines were mln dlrs in but fell in when peru stopped some payments to private foreign banks reuter 
canterra energy to drill well off nova scotia canterra energy ltd said it will drill an exploratory well on the scotian shelf about kilometers east southeast of halifax nova scotia drilling will begin in late april in meters of water and will be drilled to a total depth of meters canterra said canterra will operate the well and has a pct interest in it petro canada inc has pct trillium exploration corp has pct and nova scotia resources ventures ltd has pct reuter 
u s house panel votes to ease export controls a key house panel voted to greatly ease government controls on exports as several house committees moved rapidly toward approval of major changes in trade laws they hope will help solve u s trade woes the house foreign affairs subcommittee on international economic policy voted to direct the administration to cut the list of controlled exports by per cent by removing items no longer considered important to u s military security industries had complained they were losing sales to foreign competitors who were allowed to export freely products u s companies could not sell abroad the issue has been the subject of administration debate the commerce department had held that unnecessary restrictions impeded u s exports while the defense department said current controls should be retained but better administered four congressional panels met today to consider portions of a wideranging trade bill that intends to help u s companies sell more products abroad and to fight unfair foreign trade practices their separate proposals some of them conflicting will be woven by house democratic leaders into a final trade bill for a vote by the full house in late april sparked by the proposal of fujitsu ltd to take controlling interest in schlumberger ltd s fairchild semiconductor corp the house energy and commerce subcommittee on commerce voted to expand reagan s authority to block foreign takeovers of u s companies reagan would be able to block any takeover found to be damaging to u s economic or national security interests we are losing our semiconductors which are at the heart of our national security subcommittee chairman james florio a new jersey democrat said the subcommittee also called for the administration to consider retaliation against japan for its restrictive government procurement practices the retaliation could be triggered by a requirement that the administration investigate whether u s companies were treated unfairly and whether they have been barred from bids on lucrative public works projects such as the eight billion dlr kansai airport construction u s firms have complained they were not allowed to bid on its construction at the urging of the u s recording industry the subcommittee agreed to bar imports of a new japanese product digital audio recorders meeting in closed session the house ways and means committee agreed to allow president reagan to retaliate against foreign countries that refuse to open their markets to u s telecommunications products congressional aides said the committee also agreed u s companies would be allowed to press for relief from imports of counterfeit products made in violation of u s copyright and patent laws reuter 
japan march interim trade surplus falls japan s customs cleared trade surplus fell to billion dlrs in the first days of march from a billion surplus a year earlier the ministry of finance said the march interim surplus compared with a billion dlr surplus in the same february period fob exports in the first days of march rose pct from a year earlier to billion dlrs and cif imports rose pct to billion the average yen dollar rate used for the statistics was yen against a year earlier reuter 
india trade deficit falls india s trade deficit is provisionally estimated at billion rupees in the first months of fiscal ending march compared with billion in the year ago period the commerce ministry said exports rose in the latest period to billion rupees from the a year earlier billion and imports to billion from billion in the period the figures show the trade deficit for all of is provisionally estimated at around billion rupees from an estimated record billion in and actual billion in commerce minister p shiv shanker told reporters last month reuter 
china taiwan trade via hong kong fell in the value of trade between china and taiwan via hong kong fell pct to billion h k dlrs in from billion dlrs in hong kong s census and statistics department said taiwan s exports to china through hong kong fell to billion dlrs last year from billion in while china s exports rose to billion dlrs from mln dlrs economists in hong kong told reuters that china s controls on scarce foreign currency hurt its imports of taiwanese consumer goods such as electric fans and television sets herbal medicine and textiles were among china s chief exports to taiwan taiwan does not allow direct trade with china and indirect trade is routed mainly through hong kong reuter 
u k money market deficit forecast at mln stg the bank of england said it forecast a shortage of around mln stg in the money market today among the main factors affecting liquidity bills maturing in official hands and the take up of treasury bills will drain some mln stg while a rise in note circulation will take out around mln stg partly offsetting these outflows bankers balances above target and exchequer transactions will add some mln stg and mln stg to the system respectively reuter 
economic spotlight saudi arabia reshapes economy higher world oil prices coupled with a new realism ushered in by austerity could lift saudi arabia s economy after five years of falling revenue and growing budget deficits bankers and diplomats said the months ahead will prove critical as the government attempts a balancing act between defending higher oil prices and fostering recovery through a bigger role for the private sector economists said oil earnings could recover this year to about billion dlrs and nominal gross domestic product could grow by about three pct the first rise since but the economists said this will be possible only if the organisation of petroleum exporting countries opec succeeds in defending world oil prices and if saudi arabia is not forced to curtail output for too long saudi arabia is now keeping production down to defend opec s newly established dlr a barrel benchmark price oil minister hisham nazer told reuters output is running at about three mln barrels per day bpd well down on saudi arabia s opec quota of mln set for the first half of king fahd has stamped his personal authority on opec s new found determination to defend prices in a move western diplomats believe underlines the kingdom s need to secure a stable source of income for its economy saudi arabia still the world s largest oil exporter is a hugely wealthy country but the past five years of declining revenue have taken their toll economists estimate gross domestic product fell pct last year and pct in oil revenue last year when prices briefly dipped below dlrs per barrel probably totalled no more than billion dlrs compared to a peak billion in austerity is still the watchword but saudi arabia will not be allowed to dip further into recession the saudis can afford to draw down reserves temporarily to offset the worst effects a diplomat said in the short term the kingdom can lessen the impact of lower oil revenues and a gaping budget deficit by drawing on foreign reserves still put at around billion dlrs but such a policy cannot be pursued indefinitely bankers and diplomats said it would amount to fiscal recklessness in the longer term it also increases the dominance of the public sector at a time when the government is publicly urging private enterprise to take over the lead role in the economy bankers and diplomats said the government is well aware of the risks attached to this policy but is determined to tough it out on the oil front even if that means a short term depletion of reserves the budget deficit is targetted at a huge billion riyals or pct of total outlay the budget explicitly recognises the need to draw down reserves while foreign borrowing has been ruled out commerce minister suleiman abdulaziz al salim told saudi businessmen this week the government had carefully considered the need to stimulate the economy when drawing up its budget plans late last year it therefore took the bold step of withdrawing more than billion riyals from its reserves and pumping it into the economy he said reserves were built up during the late s and early s when saudi arabia s breakneck pace of construction and tales of high spending became legendary the shrinking economy has wrought huge changes in the fabric of the kingdom s private sector where poor management had gone unpunished in the easy days of the oil boom modern techniques of cost control have been introduced markets expanded and outsized labour forces and inventories cut back the expatriate workforce has fallen sharply the number of new bankruptcies appears to be declining but saudi banks hit hard by non performing loans to the corporate sector have become highly selective in extending new credit government moves to encourage lending and investigate company complaints about late public sector contract payments could boost confidence but recession has slowed the nation s industrialisation program and discouraged foreign investment private wealth is still very high and banks report more and more cash being placed on deposit as saudi arabia attempts to shift the weight of economic development from the public to the private sector one of the biggest tasks will be to convince businessmen to channel personal savings into industrial projects within the kingdom and refrain from the temptation to invest abroad reuter 
japan to ask chip makers to slash output further the ministry of international trade and industry will ask japanese computer microchip makers to further slash output in the second quarter in an effort to save its semiconductor pact with the united states miti officials said the united states has accused japan of reneging on the semiconductor pact by failing to stop the flow of cut price japanese chips to asian markets washington has threatened to take retaliatory action after april the pact agreed last year calls on japan to stop selling cut price chips in world markets and to increase its imports of american chips to reduce some of its huge trade surplus miti anxious to salvage the bilateral agreement has been pressing chip makers to limit production in the hope that will boost domestic chip prices and reduce the incentive to export last month the ministry asked japanese chip makers to reduce first quarter output by pct to meet that request they had to slash production by pct over the final six weeks of the first quarter if that reduced production level were maintained through to the end of june second quarter output would come in pct below that of the first three months of the year miti officials who declined to be identified said the ministry has not yet decided on the extent of the second quarter cutback one said that japanese chip makers are losing ground in asia to south korean and u s competition just as markets there are picking up miti has been criticized privately by some japanese semiconductor makers for what they see as heavy handed attempts to ensure the success of the japan u s chip pact reuter 
u k money market shortage forecast revised down the bank of england said it revised down its estimate of the deficit in the system today to mln stg from mln reuter 
u k money market given mln stg assistance the bank of england said it provided the money market with mln stg in assistance this morning this compares with the bank s revised shortage forecast of around mln stg the central bank purchased bank bills outright at the new dealing rates established yesterday these comprised mln stg in band one at pct mln stg in band two at pct and two mln stg in band three at pct reuter 
canadian roxy in new alberta oil discovery canadian roxy petroleum ltd said a new oil discovery in the peerless lake area of north central alberta is capable of flowing at over barrels of oil a day from a lower zone and more than barrels a day from a separate upper zone canadian roxy has a pct interest in the five year royalty free well known as the canadian roxy et al trout a w m texaco canada inc holds pct mlc oil and gas ltd pct northstar energy corp pct and tricentrol oils ltd pct canadian roxy said drilling has started on a follow up exploratory well about one mile northwest of the discovery well the company said it holds a net acres in the vicinity of the discovery and a seismic program is underway to evaluate further drilling opportunities reuter 
u k money market given further mln stg help the bank of england said it gave the money market a further mln stg assistance in the afternoon session this takes the bank s total help so far today to mln stg and compares with its upwards revised estimate of the shortage in the system of around mln stg the central bank bought bank bills outright comprising mln stg in band one at pct and mln stg in band two at pct reuter 
jordan sudan sign mln dlr barter trade pact jordan and sudan signed a barter trade agreement under which they will exchange mln dlrs worth of goods a year sudanese officials said they said sudan will export corn sesame peanuts spices and cow hides while jordan will export cement tomato puree chemicals and pharmaceuticals reuter 
u s energy chief sees promise in oil tax change energy secretary john herrington said his proposed option to raise the oil depletion allowance to pct was probably the most economically promising way to spur domestic production the white house has said it would consider the option although it was generally opposed to any revisions in the new tax code herrington told a meeting of the mid continent oil and gas association that the higher depletion allowance on new oil and enhanced oil recovery would cost taxpayers about mln dlrs a year the option was one of many contained in a report on oil and the national security the energy department sent to the white house on tuesday herrington said of the increased depletion allowance option that is one that could significantly increase production at a very low cost to the american taxpayer he again rejected an oil import fee as far too costly to the overall u s economy reuter 
u k money market given mln stg late assistance the bank of england said it provided the money market with late assistance of around mln stg this brings the bank s total help today to some mln stg and compares with its forecast of a shortage in the sytem of around mln stg reuter 
economic spotlight u s deficit with nics the u s trade deficit with taiwan and korea is expected to widen this year despite some economic and currency adjustments by the two newly industrialized countries economists said the surpluses that taiwan and korea ran with the u s in will get bigger this time next year the u s will be screaming at those countries about their exports said steve cerier of manufacturers hanover trust co taiwan is currently the third biggest exporter to the u s after japan and canada while korea is the seventh largest faced with heightened protectionist sentiment in congress the reagan administration has been stepping up the rhetoric against taiwan and korea urging those countries to allow their currencies to appreciate and lift impediments to free trade the thrust has shifted to those newly industrialized countries nics amid signs the dollar s steep drop against the currencies of japan and most ec nations previously the main focus of the u s drive to cut its trade gap is beginning to close the competiveness gap for american goods u s treasury secretary james baker said recently that he expects a reduction in japan s trade surplus this year but u s manufacturers still are losing markets on their own doorstep to taiwan and korea whose currencies have not risen as much as the yen and the mark as major beneficiaries of soft oil prices and with low labor costs taiwanese and korean exporters are well placed to take up the slack in the fashionable comment in washington was japan bashing now it s nic bashing said robert chandross of lloyds bank plc asia s four main nics hong kong south korea singapore and taiwan accounted for almost one fifth of the overall billion dlr u s merchandise trade deficit for the u s trade gap with taiwan rose to billion dlrs in from billion in while the bilateral trade deficit with south korea grew to billion from billion and preliminary u s data show that the growth trend is continuing the u s trade shortfall with taiwan was billion dlrs in january up pct from a year earlier the gap with korea was mln dlrs up pct from a year ago lately both nations have said they will take steps to defuse incipient trade tensions korea said it is choosing many of the items on which the u s wants it to cut import tariffs in order to deflect pressure for currency revaluation still south korean trade minister rha woong bae said last week that korea would maintain a trade surplus for three to five years as a way to cut its billion dlr foreign debt for its part taiwan said in january that it will cut tariffs on goods sometime in the second half of and try to diversify exports but vice economic minister wang chien shien said last month that he still does not expect taiwan s trade surplus with the u s will fall in the nics have made deep inroads into markets for textiles and electronic goods but korea is raising its profile in the area of big ticket manufactured goods notably cars korea expects its auto exports mostly for north america to balloon to units in from zero in the nics exports are almost all manufactured goods when their exports rise it hits the heart of the u s manufacturing base it cuts directly to us and to our customers said bob wendt manager for economic studies at bethlehem steel corp the u s takes pct of korea s computer products exports pct of its electrical appliances and pct of its telecommunications equipment a recent study by morgan guaranty trust co says taiwan and south korea are the most pressing trade issue for the u s while hong kong and singapore run trade surpluses with the u s these are offset by their deficits with other countries but taiwan and to a lesser extent south korea stand in marked contrast both of these nations have moved rapidly into large bilateral surplus with the u s and major overrall trade and current account surpluses the morgan study says morgan expects taiwan s overall trade surplus to grow to billion dlrs in from billion last year and korea s to increase to billion dlrs from billion concern about the nics is not confined to the u s a lot of korea and taiwan s exports to the u s have been at japan s expense said richard koss at general motors corp february s paris meeting of six major industrial powers exorted nics to lower trade barriers and revalue currencies but this two pronged approach has drawn little response from the two nations so far and in any case will only work with a sizeable lag economists say the u s has not said how much it thinks the taiwan s and korea s currencies should climb the taiwan dollar which is pegged to the u s dollar has risen about pct since september while the korean won has risen about five pct but in real terms the taiwan dollar has been flat against the u s unit and the won has lost seven pct economists say we ve not seen any lessening of competition from those countries that we can attribute to currency changes said bethlehem steel s wendt and so far u s pleas for taiwan and korea to use their hefty export earnings to import more have had little effect moreover it is uncertain how far u s protectionism will get given the administration s free trade stance it s hard to see that anything will be passed much before year end and then the question is will it have teeth one economist said reuter 
fed says it sets billion dlrs of customer repurchase agreements 
api says u s crude oil ouput off from year ago the american petroleum institute said that u s crude oil production in february declined pct from year ago levels to about mln barrels a day in its monthly report on u s oil supplies and stocks api said that domestic demand for petroleum products as measured by products supplied continued to rise reaching mln barrels a day in the month up pct from february api noted the drop in crude oil output coupled with a drop in natural gas liquids production which was off pct from february levels represented a decline in u s production of more than one mln barrels a day api said the decline in domestic production and the rise in demand brought petroleum imports to about six mln barrels a day in february a pct increase from last year s level so far this year api said growth in domestic demand which was up pct from last year s year to date level has slowed in comparison to the accelerated growth in the last half of it said crude oil production for the first two months of was off pct from the comparable year ago period while crude imports were up pct reuter 
fed s johnson urges stronger allied growth federal reserve board vice chairman manuel johnson said that the u s s main industrial partners should expand their domestic growth in a speech to a women s group here johnson said there is room for stronger domestic growth in those countries strong enough to absorb growth in u s export markets johnson also said there was a better alignment of exchange rates now and the paris agreement to stabilize currencies has brought western nations a long way towards establishing that goal johnson said the fed supports this pattern of exchange rates and we ll see if it leads to a convergence in trade quite possibly it can be achieved johnson said the paris agreement achieved a better alignment of exchange rates in exchange for stimulus by the major surplus countries he said this was a major improvement and a step in the right direction and added u s allies look very strongly to a u s budget deficit cut there will always be a potential risk of breakdown in international cooperation without a budget deficit cut reuter 
uk cross field prt relief favours smaller fields the cross field allowance relief on petroleum revenue tax prt announced by u k chancellor of the exchequer nigel lawson this week will favour smaller non prt paying fields according to stockbrokers wood mackenzie and co the cross field allowance offsets up to pct of qualifying spending on a new oil field against prt liability of other fields it is restricted to new offshore developments outside the southern basin and yet to gain annex b approval a report by the stockbrokers said that on a new field not paying prt due to its small size the relief would directly benefit in prt saving on an existing field the cross field allowance will mainly benefit participators in those fields which have no prt liability the report said adding that the timing of development of such fields may be advanced the government would in effect be subsidising these developments at pct of capital expenditure before corporation tax the report said on fields likely to pay prt in the future the benefit is of timing although liabilities on other existing fields will be reduced immediately liabilities on larger new fields will rise in the future due to the loss of offsets it said in a study on probable fields the report said that when the rates of return are examined the rise for a prt paying field such as miller the largest undeveloped oil field in the u k north sea is from to pct while the rise for a small non prt paying field such as kittiwake is to pct the report added that in fields which pay prt there will be a cost in being able to have this early relief not only will these costs be unavailable for offset against the field s future profits but uplift of some pct on these costs will be lost thus a saving of prt of when field development starts will have to be matched by a rise in prt of at a later time reuter 
italian panel urges exchange liberalization liberalization of italy s foreign exchange controls should be gradual but also reasonably rapid a report issued by a study committee nominated by the italian treasury ministry said the report looking at the country s financial development prospects said italy s large public sector deficit and growing public debt were among the considerations that made a gradual liberalization preferable the report also favoured retention of the lira s six pct oscillation band with the european monetary system ems during the liberalization process in order to lessen short term domestic interest rate fluctuations which could result from portfolio adjustments the lira s fluctuation margin is currently significantly higher than that allowed for other ems currencies italy has over recent months announced a series of deregulation moves in response to a european community directive aimed at creating a genuine common market in goods services and finance by reuter 
ec official faults u s trade bill sir roy denman head of the ec delegation in washington said pending u s trade legislation is a misguided attempt to deal with the nation s trade deficit and will spark retaliation if passed in its present form to think that you can deal with a trade deficit by legislation is a mistake he told the foreign trade association here denman told reporters that possible retaliation which he warned of in a letter to house ways and means committee chairman dan rostenkowski would not necessarily be on a product for product basis retaliation does not have to be matched product to product denman said he said in the case of textiles import restrictions however retaliation would be against u s textile exports certainly if restrictions were imposed on european exports of textiles to the u s the community would be likely to retaliate with restrictions on u s textile exports to europe denman said he also took exception to u s proposals to require countries with large current account surpluses with the u s to cut those surpluses or face special tariffs this would conflict with international obligations throw a large wrench into the current round of trade negotiations and could easily boomerang he warned of the tariff proposals denman also took exception to u s efforts to seek reciprocity in specific trade sectors forcing reciprocity in one sector by imposing barriers would simply lead to retaliation from the other party he said adding that overall reciprocity can only be achieved by trading off disadvantages in one sector for advantages in another reuter 
ecuador gets loan to help repair oil pipeline the andean development corp caf said today it is lending mln dlrs to ecuador to help repair miles of oil pipeline destroyed by an earthquake earlier this month the loan was signed here today in the offices of the caracas based caf by the corporation s president galo montano perez and ecuadorean ambassador antonio parra gil the loan had originally been intended to finance an expansion of the pipeline but following the earthquake the ecuadorean government asked for the terms to be changed so as to permit their use in reconstruction ecuador expects oil production to be suspended for four months as a result of the damage and has asked venezuela to help by supplying barrels per day while the pipeline is repaired the opec member has a production quota of bpd but has asked the organization to allow it to produce bpd once the repairs are completed so as to compensate the loss reuter 
senate wants japan semiconducter pact enforced the u s senate has unanimously called for president reagan immediately to force japan to live up to a pledge to stop dumping its microchips and open its markets to u s chipmakers the senate voted to to urge reagan to impose penalties on japanese high technology products containing semiconductors in retaliation for what it sees as japan s violations of the semiconductor pact while the measure does not bind reagan to any action senate leaders said its adoption would warn japan stiffer legislation would be considered if the violations continue we want to send a message to japan to let it know how the senate feels about this matter senate democratic leader robert byrd told the senate senate finance committee chairman lloyd bentsen told the senate the measure was not aimed at retaliation but at correcting japan s unfair trade practices a key house trade lawmaker representative richard gephardt also announced he would seek to force japan and other countries with huge trade surpluses to slash their surplus by pct a year for three years reuter 
reagan says u s must do more to lessen reliance on foreign oil 
reagan says u s needs to lessen oil imports president reagan said the united states must do more to lessen its reliance on imported oil president reagan said during a nationally televised news conference that the rising u s reliance on foreign oil is a problem that the administration is studying we have to study this more reagan said this is why we increased the strategic petroleum reserve but we have to do more he said reagan said his administration has already proposed deregulating natural gas and eliminating the windfall profits tax on crude oil production however he complained that congress had not yet approved those measures the department of energy earlier this week released a report that warned of rising u s reliance on foreign oil imports at a time when domestic production is declining it suggested options for the administration to consider but made no specific recommendations reuter 
taiwan s export orders fall in february export orders for taiwanese products fell pct to billion u s dlrs in february from billion in january but rose nearly pct from billion a year earlier an economic ministry official said he attributed the fall to the rising taiwan dollar february orders for electric and electronic goods were mln u s dlrs up from mln in january and mln in february garment orders were mln dlrs against mln and mln while footwear orders were mln compared with mln and mln reuter 
bank of finland will announce new measures the bank of finland called a news conference at gmt to announce new measures for the development of the system of monetary control a spokesman for the bank declined to give further details banking sources said they expected the bank to announce it will actively take part in the interbank market and buy and sell certificates of deposit the state treasury issues government paper with a maturity of up to one year the central bank has so far not issued its own paper the sources said reuter 
taiwan plans mission to close trade gap with u s taiwan s leading industrial organisation said it will send its first buying mission to the u s later this year in an effort to reduce the country s trade surplus with washington a spokesman for the chinese national federation of industries told reuters the mission was part of a broader plan to switch large purchases to the u s from japan the federation groups all of taiwan s major industrial associations last year its members purchased about billion u s dlrs worth of industrial products from japan and about billion from the u s the spokesman said federation members were now discussing the volume of business they could transfer to america he said they had drawn up a list of about industrial products they would be shopping for in the u s during the buying mission in september but he could give no figure on how much would be spent a board of foreign trade official told reuters the government would send two buying missions to america between june and july this year and might send others later taiwan s trade surplus with the u s rose to a record billion dlrs last year from billion in reuter 
reagan says u s needs to lessen oil imports president reagan said the united states must do more to lessen its reliance on imported oil president reagan said during a nationally televised news conference that the rising u s reliance on foreign oil is a problem that the administration is studying we have to study this more reagan said this is why we increased the strategic petroleum reserve but we have to do more he said reagan said his administration has already proposed deregulating natural gas and eliminating the windfall profits tax on crude oil production however he complained that congress had not yet approved those measures the department of energy earlier this week released a report that warned of rising u s reliance on foreign oil imports at a time when domestic production is declining it suggested options for the administration to consider but made no specific recommendations reuter 
trico tro gets chinese contract trico industries inc said it has received a six mln dlr contract to supply hydraulic lift equipment for heavy crude oil production for the chinese ministry of petroleum industry the company said the equipment is for use in the laiohe oilfield miles northeast of peking and will equip a well program reuter 
senate wants japan semiconducter pact enforced the u s senate has unanimously called for president reagan immediately to force japan to live up to a pledge to stop dumping its microchips and open its markets to u s chipmakers the senate voted to to urge reagan to impose penalties on japanese high technology products containing semiconductors in retaliation for what it sees as japan s violations of the semiconductor pact while the measure does not bind reagan to any action senate leaders said its adoption would warn japan stiffer legislation would be considered if the violations continue we want to send a message to japan to let it know how the senate feels about this matter senate democratic leader robert byrd told the senate senate finance committee chairman lloyd bentsen told the senate the measure was not aimed at retaliation but at correcting japan s unfair trade practices a key house trade lawmaker representative richard gephardt also announced he would seek to force japan and other countries with huge trade surpluses to slash their surplus by pct a year for three years reuter 
japan says oecd study on subsidies still ongoing japanese agriculture ministry officials said a study of agriculture subsidies by the organisation for economic cooperation and development oecd is still under way and will be completed sometime next month the officials said the study has been inaccurate so far and they said japan would comment on the final results a reuter report from washington yesterday said the study has found that japan has the highest agriculture subsidies in the world and that dairy farmers benefit more than any other commodity producers from subsidies the study has not been officially released due to objections from some countries japan has withdrawn its objection and decided to accept the release of the study the agriculture ministry officials said oecd directors are expected to approve the release at a meeting in mid may one agriculture ministry source said the study so far was based on the years japanese subsidies have dropped sharply since then partly because of tight budgetary policy and foreign currency factors have also changed he said the study is unfair and unacceptable because it does not take account of various differences in farming conditions in each country such as geography the source said he said it is highly likely that the final study will show japan has the highest farm subsidies in the world this would increase foreign pressure to open japan s farm market further but this would have little impact on japan s agriculture policy he said without giving further details a main purpose of the study is to clarify export subsidies by major exporting nations like the united states and the european community but japan is a major importer he said reuter 
canada northwest to sell preferred shares canada northwest energy ltd said it reached agreement in principle to sell one mln preferred shares by way of private placement to raise mln dlrs for oil and gas exploration the pct cumulative redeemable convertible series d preferred shares will be flow through shares entitling holders to tax deductions not claimed by the company the shares will be convertible anytime after issue into common shares at an equivalent conversion price of dlrs a share after one year they will be redeemable at any time by the company at dlrs a share plus accrued dividends reuter 
ec and comecon ends talks with progress the european community ec and soviet led comecon ended talks here having made progress on setting up formal trade relations but no breakthrough because of comecon s refusal to recognise west berlin as part of the ec delegates said negotiators were trying to reach agreement on the draft of a joint declaration setting up official relations after years of mutual non recognition john maslen head of the ec delegation told reuters as he emerged from the final session we made some progress but we have called for another meeting officials who asked not to be named said the comecon team had refused to accept a clause in the draft declaration which would recognise west berlin as part of the nation ec under the treaty of rome all contracts and agreements signed by the community must contain this territorial clause stipulating west berlin is an integral part of the ec an ec negotiator taking part in the three day talks said we wanted the territorial clause in but comecon said no a joint statement issued after the talks said progress was made towards clarifying positions but another meeting would be necessary to complete the work any decision in principle to set up relations would require approval by the community s council of ministers and by the executive committee of comecon zdzislaw kuroski deputy director of comecon who heads the east bloc delegation told reuters ahead of today s session we have narrowed our differences on a range of questions but not on all questions asked whether comecon would accept ec insistence that any joint declaration stipulate west berlin as part of the community he replied this question is not contained in the draft which our side presented west german diplomats said they would insist on including the clause on west berlin in any ec comecon agreement the talks followed an earlier round between the two trading blocs here last september and the first ever direct talks between the ec and the soviet union on establishing diplomatic relations in january the ec trades with individual comecon member states despite non recognition of comecon last year the ec had a five billion dlr trade deficit with east european states about half the deficit of the previous year due to a drop in the price of soviet oil imported by the ec reuter 
treasury s baker supports fed monetary policy treasury secretary james baker said in a newspaper interview that he supports the current course of federal reserve board monetary policy the course of fed policy is quite adequate as far as we are concerned baker said in an interview with the new york times in the interview baker declined to comment about the recent paris accord among the six leading industrialized democracies when he was asked why the u s agreed to stabilize the dollar at current levels when the trade deficit hit a record level last year baker said in the newspaper interview that it was a subject i prefer not to talk about he said that if he explained why the u s agreed to help maintain the dollar at current levels i would of necessity end up getting into some of the private agreements that support such and agreement on the dollar baker was optimistic about brazil which has stopped interest payments on much of its outstanding debt with foreign commercial banks they are after all paying on time all the debt service and principal on their official debts having just rescheduled with the paris club baker said in the newspaper interview baker said that brazilian repreentatives had explained they intented to pay their commercial bank debts in full but needed time reuter 
gulf canada goc asserts no damage from spill gulf canada corp said a discharge of material at its amauligak drilling site in the beaufort sea caused no danger to the environment yesterday the federal department of energy charged gulf canada with eight counts of illegal dumping for discharging powdered cement and drilling mud between september and last year the charges carry a maximum dlr fine on each count gulf said the government s charges relate to discharging materials without a permit not to environmental damage resulting from the action gulf said it voluntarily informed appropriate government officials when the material was discharged the company also said none of the material was discharged within miles of the closest shoreline it added that one of the materials cited barite is a naturally occurring mineral routinely discharged into the sea during drilling operations reuter 
bank of finland to trade in banks certificates the bank of finland said it has started dealings in banks certificates of deposits cds with immediate effect and that it was prepared to issue its own paper to stimulate operations on the domestic money market bank of finland governor rolf kullberg told a news conference the bank will also limit credits on the call money market from march by introducing a maximum credit amount and a penalty rate if banks exceed this ceiling the recent introduction of three month money and these new regulations are decreasing the role of the call money market and the discount rate as monetary instruments kullberg said bankers welcomed the central bank measures saying these were needed to accelerate the domestic money market the bank of finland had never before been allowed to issue its own cds they said the central bank for the first time has an instrument with which it really can influence the price of money in this country one banker said under the new rules banks are limited to call money credits to a maximum of pct of the total of their equity capital and cash reserves a penalty rate of interest of pct is now introduced if the limit is exceeded director sixten korkman at the bank of finland s monetary department said he expected the bank to pursue an active policy on the interbank market as an issuer of own cds we are free to do it so maybe on monday we will issue the first just to see how the system functions overall i think we will issue at least a few times a week korkman told reuters he said the bank was likely to aim at cds with a three month maturity at first as the market was best developed for paper of that maturity the bank of finland introduced last december three month credits and deposits at rates determined by the central bank and the commercial banks as a shift away from the traditional overnight call money market liquidity on the call credit market has fallen from around nine billion markka in early december to mln last week while three month credits have risen to three to four billion on the interbank market there has been an increasing trade in banks cds estimated to be some eight billion markka in addition commercial paper accounts for around five billion markka and treasury bills two billion reuter 
ec says u s broke trade rules in akzo dupont row the european community commission has charged the united states with breaking international trade rules by excluding dutch made fibres from the u s market and said it would take the issue to the world trade body gatt in the latest of a series of trade disputes with washington the executive authority alleged that a section of the u s tariff act was incompatible with the gatt general agreement on tariffs and trade because it discriminated against imported products in favour of domestically produced goods the commission said it would ask geneva based gatt to rule on whether the section in question which officials said had proved a barrier to many ec exporters conformed to its rules commission officials did not rule out retaliatory measures if after a gatt decision against it washington failed to bring the disputed section into line with international rules the executive s decision to go to gatt follows a complaint to it by the dutch company akzo akzo as whose aramid synthetic fibres have been banned from the u s market because of charges by the u s firm dupont that the fibres violate the american company s patents akzo alleged that the ban imposed by the u s international trade commission itc was discriminatory and incompatible with gatt provisions the dispute centres on the fact that section of the u s tariff act gives the itc jurisdiction over imported products the ec commission charged that ec producers did not have the same possibilities for defending themselves before the itc as they would have in a normal u s court consequently the procedure followed is less favourable than that which takes places in normal courts of law for goods produced in the united states it said in a statement reuter 
gatt to debate u s charges of airbus subsidies the u s will pursue its complaint that european governments unfairly subsidise the airbus industrie aircraft consortium in proceedings at the gatt civil aircraft committee a gatt spokesman said today the u s presented its case for the first time to the aircraft committee of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt during a special two day session ending today gatt rules cover some pct of world commerce the member committee agreed to open debate on the u s complaint starting with informal consultations and then holding a special session in july trade officials said the tension has eased the permanent trade ambassador of the member european community tran van thinh told reporters the u s has decided to go through proper channels u s trade officials again made clear their anger over what they call unfair government support for airbus voiced during a visit to european capitals in february in a letter calling for the special committee meeting washington charged france west germany the u k spain and the ec commission with unfair practices on behalf of airbus the u s charges that the europeans are violating rules laid down in the agreement on trade in civil aircraft washington presented its reading of rules on inducement to purchase aircraft and support for development of airlines during the special session and asked the committee to confirm its view official sources in the delegations said the u s views would be considered during the informal consultations but the europeans would also be free to bring up any complaints against american civil aircraft practices some delegates said the u s position appeared to give such broad interpretation to the rules as to suggest that the civil aircraft accord needed re negotiating all these matters would be considered during the informal meetings reuter 
japan opens home market to u s fish japan has agreed to drop barriers to american caught herring and pollock opening the way for shipments that could reach mln dlrs annually u s trade representative clayton yeutter announced yeutter said the accord was reached after extensive bilateral negotiations that ended earlier today in tokyo he said the commerce department estimated u s shipments of processed pollock products and herring should rise to mln dlrs this year and to more than mln dlrs annually in later years there was no immediate assessment of the value of current u s shipments but officials said the pact would lift quotas to the point that americans would be able to ship nearly all the pollock and herring ordered by japanese firms at the same time yeutter said washington was temporarily suspending a complaint with the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt that japan was unfairly curbing imports of the two fish he said the complaint would be reviewed later this year after an assessment to see if japan lived up to the agreement reuter 
g finance officials discuss debt currencies deputy finance ministers from the group of leading western industrialised countries met here to discuss the world debt crisis trade imbalances and currency stability today following last month s paris monetary accord sources close to the talks said the officials met at the offices of the international monetary fund imf to discuss broad aspects of world monetary policy in preparation for the imf s interim committee meeting in washington in april the talks were the first high level international review of the monetary situation since the accord last month reached by the u s west germany france britain japan and canada to stabilise world currency markets at around present levels following the pct slide in the dollar since mid other countries represented at today s talks were italy which refused to attend last month s meeting on the grounds that it was being excluded from the real discussions the netherlands belgium and switzerland many of the officials had met earlier today and yesterday within the framework of the organisation for economic cooperation and development oecd to review the slow progress being made in cutting the record billion dlr u s trade deficit and persuading west germany and japan to open their economies to more foreign imports reuter 
bids awarded for elk hills crude oil the u s department of energy said it has awarded bids for about barrels per day bpd of crude oil from the elk hills naval petroleum reserve in california the contract period runs from april one through july one the doe said successful bidders the amount of crude oil and the price per bbl according to the doe are as follows texaco inc s tx texaco trading and transport bpd at dlrs and bpd at dlrs beacon oil co bpd at dlrs and bpd at dlrs golden west refining bpd at dlrs successful bidders the amount of oil and price per bbl according to the doe continue as follows chevron s chv chevron usa inc bpd at dlrs and bpd at dlrs chevron international oil co bpd at dlrs and bpd at dlrs newhall refining co bpd at dlrs caljet inc bpd at dlrs casey co bpd at dlrs also cryssen refining inc bpd at dlrs edgington oil co bpd at dlrs sound refining inc bpd at dlrs atlantic richfield co arc bpd at dlrs successful bidders the amount of crude oil and the price per bbl according to the doe continue as follows orkin inc bpd at dlrs lunday thagard co bpd at dlrs golden eagle refining bpd at dlrs macmillan ring free oil co bpd at dlrs bpd at dlrs and bpd at dlrs mock resources bpd at dlrs petro diamond bpd at dlrs reuter 
canada s clark sees trade as most urgent problem trade is the most urgent problem facing u s canadian relations because of a pressing need to reach a new bilateral pact within the coming months joe clark canadian secretary of state for external affairs said negotiators for the two countries have been meeting for more than a year in an effort to work out an agreement the most urgent problem now is the trade question because that has to be decided within the next months clark told the commonwealth club of california we have a fast track authority from your congress for approval or rejection of whatever the negotiators achieve clark said that as a practical matter an initial agreement must be reached by late september or early october he listed environmental questions particularly acid rain and defense as the second and third most important bilateral issues facing ottawa and washington on wednesday president reagan announced that he will seek billion dlrs from congress to address the acid rain problem some interpreted the move as a goodwill gesture in advance of his annual meeting on april in ottawa with prime minister brian mulroney in a question and answer session with the public affairs group clark said that the two countries must find better mechanisms for resolving their trade disputes this rash of countervailing actions where we acted on corn and you acted on soft wood and we both said they were quasijudicial the dispute resolution mechanisims in place now are not working adequately in either of our interests he said ottawa also is seeking to change some of washington s rules on government procurement that penalize canadian businesses he said there are a number of canadian companies that in order to secure substantial contracts in the united states have had to move their head offices out of our country into your country because you have national procurement requirements he said in turn he added the united states would like to change some of the procurement requirements that exist at the provincial government level in canada clark declined to forecast the outcome of the discussions what will come out of it remains for the negotiators in the first instance to propose and then governments and congresses will have judge he said in his prepared remarks clark said that the united states has tended to take canada for granted although it exports to its northern neighbor more than twice what it exports to japan yet you bought almost per cent more from japan last year than you bought from canada he said reuter reuter 
u s senators say sanctions likely on microchips the united states will likely impose sanctions soon on imports of japanese microchips senators said today after a private meeting with commerce secretary malcolm baldrige although the senators said baldrige told them no decision would be taken until a final determination is made on whether japanese microchips were dumped in the united states they said they were virtually sure japan would face penalties president reagan s trade policy advisory group of which baldrige is a member will meet on the issue wednesday i am confident we will see action taken sen john mccain an arizona republican told reporters i am expecting sanctions at least and even more than sanctions sen pete domenici a new mexico republican said the senators several congressmen and u s semiconductor industry representatives met with baldrige and state department officials to discuss japan s alleged violations of a september agreement to stop dumping its microchips in the united states and other countries they recommended japanese firms be penalized through tariffs or import duties over the next six to months for continuing to dump microchips the violations were worth mln dls to the japanese semiconductor industry they said asked if baldrige intended to recommend sanctions sen pete wilson told reporters the clear import of what he said is that there will be japan can t just say they will comply we think sanctions must be applied for past violations of the agreement the california republican said the semiconductor industry produces microprocessor chips which are used in high technology products ranging from radios to defence missile guidance systems sen james mcclure an idaho republican said baldrige told them the administration had not made a final determination that japanese companies had dumped semiconductor microchips below the cost of production in the united states or other countries but mcclure said senators told him there is no doubt dumping is going on based on evidence such as invoices of purchases of the japanese products the two countries signed a pact last september in which japan agreed to stop selling its microchips in the united states and other countries below production costs and to allow the u s semiconductor industry access to the japanese market in return the united states waived its right to impose import duties on the japanese microchips japanese officials have said they have lived up to the pact and have asked japanese chip makers to further slash output to save the pact japan has frequently been the target of congressional discouragement over last year s record billion dlr trade deficit tokyo had a billion dlr surplus with the united states last year and had large surpluses with other countries the senate yesterday unanimously passed a resolution calling for action against japan for violations of the pact since september the resolution will be introduced in the house next week by rep bob matsui a california democrat reuter 
no zimbabwe dollar devaluation central bank zimbabwe s reserve bank the nation s central bank has denied the zimbabwe dollar would be devalued bank governor kombo moyana told the herald daily newspaper unfortunate and completely unfounded speculation that a depreciation of the zimbabwe dollar was about to occur had aggravated a serious foreign exchange shortage during february and the early part of march this speculation caused importers to bring forward their payments and exporters to delay as long as possible the inward remittance of export receipts resulting in a significant slowdown in net foreign exchange inflows he added reuter 
world bank likely to urge changes on jakarta world bank president barber conable is expected to press indonesia the third world s sixth largest debtor to maintain the momentum of economic policy changes to tackle the slump in its oil revenues western diplomats said conable who flew to indonesia yesterday from tokyo will meet with president suharto and senior economic ministers he said on arrival that the economy of south east asia s largest nation was being managed well but the slump in world oil prices called for major policy adjustments today the world bank chief will visit bank funded projects in the eastern section of java indonesia s most populous island he will see suharto on tuesday after a day of detailed discussions with ministers tomorrow indonesia the only asian member of opec has been severely hit by last year s crash in oil prices which cut its oil and gas revenues in half japan s state export import bank last month agreed to provide around mln dlrs in untied credits to help indonesia pay for its share of world bank development projects indonesia a country of mln people has responded to the oil slump by cutting spending devaluing its currency by pct and trying to boost exports while using foreign loans to bridge its deficit diplomats said that conable was expected to press suharto and leading economic ministers to maintain the pace of policy change particularly in dismantling indonesia s high cost protected economy oil prices the debt crisis the world recession all call for major policy adjustments and external support conable said in his arrival statement but with indonesia facing parliamentary elections next month he is likely to avoid anything which would imply that the bank is demanding specific changes we believe there has been wise leadership here and the economy is being very well managed conable told reporters at jakarta airport indonesia has official and private overseas debts totalling billion dlrs according to the bank which makes it the third world s sixth biggest debtor it has received billion dlrs from the world bank since conable did not spell out what further changes he would like to see last month the bank endorsed economic changes already introduced by indonesia but implied it wanted more giving a mln dlr loan in balance of payments support the bank said it will monitor progress on implementation of the government s trade reform measures and supported its determination to promote efficiency and longer term growth indonesia has introduced a series of measures since last may to boost non oil exports liberalise trade and encourage outside investment suharto has also ordered a government committee to look into which of indonesia s state run companies could be sold but in a report last month the u s embassy said the government appeared divided over how far to take its reforms western analysts say that in particular the government is unsure how far to go with dismantling indonesia s high cost monopolies which control core areas of the economy central bank governor arifin siregar said this week that indonesia faced very limited economic choices it could not spend its way out of trouble because this would increase the balance of payments deficit and domestic inflation he said the main objective was to raise exports outside the oil and natural gas sector indonesia s current account deficit is projected by the government to fall to billion dlrs in the coming financial year which starts on april from an estimated billion in reuter 
nigeria changes auction rules to defend the naira nigeria s central bank has changed the rules governing its foreign exchange auctions in what analysts see as a means of defending the naira currency which has depreciated steadily the bank said in a statement that from april banks bidding for foreign exchange would have to pay at the rate they offered and not as presently at the rate of the lowest successful bid made at the auction this should discourage banks from bidding high to ensure that they were successful while paying the lower marginal rate analysts said it should act as a brake because banks will know that if they bid high they will have to pay what they offered a western diplomat commented the naira has depreciated against the dollar by pct since the auctions known as the second tier foreign exchange market sfem began last september at last week s session the nigerian currency was fixed at to the dollar the third fall in a row they were clearly worried and this is the logical way of trying to stop the trend the diplomat said the central bank also announced the auctions would be fortnightly not weekly beginning on april it was not immediately clear whether next thursday s scheduled session would still take place nor if the bank was planning to double the mln dlrs which are normally on offer at each auction demand for foreign exchange has consistently outstripped supply encouraging banks to bid high and thus further weakening the naira if the normal weekly allocation is not doubled at the fortnightly session high demand could undermine the objective of the new system analysts said although bidding banks will now pay what they offered the official exchange rate for the naira applying to business transactions will continue to be the marginal rate the lowest successful bid sfem is a central part of nigeria s structural adjustment program which is considered to be the most ambitious economic recovery plan in black africa the program involves setting a realistic exchange rate for the naira which was over valued for many years liberalising imports boosting agriculture removing subsidies and reducing inefficient government participation in the economy the world bank has played a prominent part in designing this dramatic blue print and in selling it to an often sceptical public which fears inflation and lower living standards ishrat husain the world bank s representative in nigeria said yesterday he was satisfied both with the adjustment program as a whole and the foreign exchange auctions so far so good he told a meeting of bankers in lagos adding that only members of nigeria s import dependent elite would suffer hardship while the common man would benefit fears that the program would encourage inflation were incorrect he said bumper harvests had reduced rural inflation and urban prices had already reflected the naira s black market value before the currency was allowed to find its true level last september reuter 
next world trade negotiations must succeed nz ministers from more than nations were told by new zealand that the next international negotiations on liberalising trade would be the last this century and the cost of failure could not be measured trade minister mike moore told his colleagues at a welcoming ceremony before two days of talks here that great progress had been made in preparing for the negotiations which must not be sidetracked we live in troubled and dangerous times for the world trading system he said we have seen that the failure of the world trading system has caused great depression and conflict in the past our failure to maintain the momentum will be at great cost to us all moore said he added the cost of failure is beyond calculation it is our last hope and best opportunity this century we will not get another chance before the year the ministers are in new zealand to review world trade since the uruguay round talks last sepember the meeting is also part of preparations for a full scale conference of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt in venice in june the uruguay meeting is considered by most countries to have been particularly successful with northern hemisphere countries managing to have service industries such as banking and insurance included in the next full round the southerners goal of including agricultural and tropical products also was met the meeting at this north island tourist resort is described by participants as informal and no declaration is expected moore said one aim was to instil a sense of political urgency to avert potential economic tragedy another was to seek ways of popularising freer trade to people who felt the pain of readjustment but could not see the benefits as well as preventing bush fires of confrontation while we proceed with orderly negotiations the meeting is being attended by overseas delegations including representatives of gatt and the economic community the delegates include u s trade representative clayton yeutter american sources say he is ready to state that the best way to reverse protectionist sentiment in the united states is to implement four key uruguay proposals an end to agricultural subsidies inclusion of trade in services and investments in gatt regulations tightening of restrictions on pirating of so called intellectual property such as trademarks patents and copyrights new rules to resolve trade disputes among gatt s member states earlier new zealand sources had said french foreign trade minister michel noir had pulled out of the informal gatt talks for domestic political reasons cabinet chief bernard prauge will lead the french delegation reuter 
explosion at bp oil refinery in scotland an explosion followed by a fire ripped through a british petroleum bp oil refinery killing one man a bp spokesman said the fire was confined to one plant at the acre refinery at grangemouth miles west of edinburgh the cause and extent of the damage had yet to be determined two people were killed in a previous explosion and fire at the plant on march that incident is still being investigated the spokesman said reuter 
u s credit market outlook mini refunding a hefty slice of new u s treasury supply is not the most welcome prospect for a slumbering credit market but at least this week s offerings should provide it with some focus economists said banks and mutual funds have cash that should be put to work so the auctions should breathe some life into the market said economists at merrill lynch capital markets inc the treasury will place a billion dlr package of two year four year and seven year notes on the sales block this week the mini refunding which will raise billion dlrs in new cash comprises billion dlrs of two year notes for auction on tuesday billion dlrs of four year notes on wednesday and billion dlrs of seven year notes on thursday the market also faces the regular weekly three and six month bill auction today amounting to billion dlrs the mini refunding does not come at a particularly auspicious time for the market bond prices have been drifting sideways in a narrow range against the backdrop of a cloudy u s economic outlook diminished chances of a change in federal reserve board policy and a stable dollar moreover the bond market s inertia has compared unfavourably with the rash of activity taking place in high yield markets overseas like the u k as well as in u s equities but according to the merrill lynch economists there are signs the pall hanging over the u s bond market is lifting a bit customer activity has been light but all on the buy side and there is a marked absence of selling they said in a weekly report philip braverman of irving trust securities inc believes banks will snap up the two and four year issues at this week s sales the banks are in need of investments that provide earnings though the yield spread to the cost of carrying these maturities has been wider it is still positive he said in a weekly market review but economists agreed not even the auctions will generate enough impetus for a major move this will only come once the overseas markets have had their run based on last week s events there is little to indicate that the appetite for yield has begun to wane said economists at salomon brothers inc indeed talk persisted last week that japanese investors are planning to re weight their portfolios in favour of the higher yielding markets at the start of japan s new fiscal year on april and while traditionally the japanese have not been big buyers of the shorter dated issues on offer at this week s u s auctions such reports undermine market confidence even actions by the british australian and canadian monetary authorities to curb the rise of their currencies should also enhance the attractiveness of their respective bond markets the salomon brothers economists said meanwhile ecomomic releases are unlikely to enliven the u s market unless they deviate widely from expectations economists said this week s economic calendar begins on tuesday with february durable goods orders economists expect a rebound from january s depressed levels peter greenbaum of smith barney harris upham and co said several areas including transport equipment should have bounced back but a decline in military capital goods will cap total new orders he forecasts a rise of two pct after january s pct slump some other economists foresee a gain as large as five pct friday s consumer price report for february is expected to show an increase of about pct after a pct january gain economists said energy prices the driving force behind the january rise rose more moderately last month while food prices declined meanwhile economists warned that the federal funds rate will be subject to volatility in the weeks ahead due to the approach of quarter end and the mid april tax date some economists expect the fed to execute a bill pass this week because its adding requirement increases sharply in the new statement period beginning on thursday fed funds traded at pct late friday and are expected to open near that level reuter 
gatt success will take pressure n z minister long term pressure by trade ministers is necessary if the current uruguay round of talks on the general agreement on trade and tariffs gatt is to succeed new zealand s overseas trade minister mike moore said moore told the opening meeting of trade ministers from nations gathered for informal talks on the gatt that ministers need opportunities to keep in touch and to consider how the political problems inherent in an exercise like this one can be faced and resolved moore said the taupo meeting is one of a series of such international gatherings which includes the oecd ministerial meeting in may and the g meeting in venice in june enabling ministers to maintain contact world trade conditions are getting better not worse he said he said new zealand is moving rapidly and of our own initiative in the direction of liberalisation and i warn you we shall be looking for partners reuter 
yeutter sees u s japan verging on trade conflict the united states and japan are on the brink of serious conflict on trade especially over semiconductors japanese unwillingness for public bodies to buy u s super computers and barriers to u s firms seeking to participate in the eight billion dlr kansai airport project u s trade representative clayton yeutter said he was talking to reporters yesterday on the eve of a two day meeting of trade ministers which will review progress made by committees set up after the uruguay meeting last september launched a new round of gatt general agreement on tariffs and trade talks european community ec commissioner willy de clercq meanwhile told reporters conflict between the world s three major trading and economic powers the ec the u s and japan set a poor example for other members of gatt australian trade minister john dawkins told the reporters bilateral retaliation at the enormous expense of the rest of the world was no way to solve trade disputes new zealand trade minister mike moore told his colleagues great progress had been made in preparing for the current round of gatt negotiations which must not be sidetracked the ministers have said they want to maintain the momentum towards fresh negotiations or avert serious trade conflicts yeutter said the problem with international trade talks was that they tended to get bogged down for years countries don t get very serious about negotiating until the end of the day which is maybe five or six years in the future he also said he did not consider the new u s congress as protectionist as it was months ago that s a very healthy development he added if you asked me about that a year or months ago i would have said that it was terribly protectionist members of congress that is the contemplative members of congress have begun to realise protectionism is not the answer to the billion dlr trade deficit yeutter said they ve also begun to realise that you cannot legislate solutions to a billion dollar trade deficit so they are more realistic and in my judgement more responsible on that issue than they were or months ago he added whether that will be reflected in the legislation that eventually emerges is another matter reuter 
australia said to rely too much on oil taxes the government s over reliance on revenue from crude oil is adversely affecting australia s economic performance australian petroleum exploration association apea chairman dennis benbow said over one third of australia s indirect tax income is derived from oil at a time of falling domestic output and weak crude prices he told the apea annual conference here this dependence on oil generated revenue distorts the country s economic performance directly by acting as a disincentive to new exploration and indirectly by affecting trading competitiveness through high energy costs he said australia s medium term liquid fuel self sufficiency position is posing a major economic threat yet the government s response has been to load new tax burdens on the oil industry benbow said domestic oil output from existing fields is expected to fall to barrels per day bpd in fiscal from bpd in reflecting mainly the decline of the bass strait fields he said bass strait reserves are now two thirds depleted with the three largest fields pct depleted he said by bass strait output is expected to be just over half the level assuming a number of so far undeveloped fields are brought on stream and enhanced recovery from existing fields goes ahead benbow said government projections of output from as yet undiscovered fields range from to bpd he said australian liquid fuel demand is forecast to rise to bpd in from in implying a crude oil gap of between and bpd in five years time he said at present world oil prices and the current value of the australian dollar annual oil imports in would cost between billion and billion dlrs benbow said despite intensive exploration in the early s the addition to reserves has been inadequate he said for example the mln barrels discovered in the five years represent about two years consumption he said he called on the government to review its tax policies to restore incentive to exploration reuter 
exxon official urges planning for next oil surge world governments should prepare for an inevitable significant increase in the price of oil as non middle east supplies diminish exxon corp xon director and senior vice president donald mcivor said policymakers must also face up to the reality that the bulk of world oil reserves lies in the middle east he said in a speech prepared for delivery to the australian petroleum exploration association apea annual conference it appears ever more likely that new discoveries elsewhere will not change this fact he said mcivor said of the world s oil fields contain about pct of all oil ever discovered only of these super giant fields lie outside the middle east and only five of the have been discovered in the last years three of them in the middle east he said he also said that since the world has been consuming to billion barrels a year while making discoveries at the rate of only to billion barrels a year more than half of remaining proved reserves are in the middle east he said mcivor said it was important to continue to search for oil outside the middle east because each addition contributes to a diversity of supply desirable for global political and economic stability it is important to enhance the likelihood of home country discoveries with measures such as non discriminatory and stable taxation and minimum regulation together with opening up of acreage for exploration he said increasing reliance on the middle east will also boost the incentive to use natural gas and synthetic sources of petroleum he added reuter 
australian oil tax cut seen boosting output a percentage point reduction in the australian government s maximum crude oil levy on old oil would stabilize bass straits oil output resources analyst ian story said here a reduction to pct from pct would enable bass strait output to be maintained at the current rate of barrels per day bpd for the next year rather than falling to bpd in he told the australian petroleum exploration association annual conference story is an analyst with and a director of sydney stockbroker meares and philips ltd windfall profits taxes on bass strait crude are no longer appropriate in the current economic climate story said the maximum pct levy on old oil that discovered before september is now forcing the broken hill pty co ltd brkn s exxon corp xon partnership to shut in production accelerating the decline in output and reducing government revenue he said he said the producer return per barrel at a price of australian dlrs a barrel would rise to dlrs from dlrs if the levy was cut to pct the economics at an pct levy are simply not attractive at oil prices below dlrs story said cutting the maximum levy rate to pct would create higher levels of self sufficiency increase government revenue boost exports and provide incentives for exploration and development he said the government is currently reviewing the oil tax structure reuter 
philippines posts mln dlr january trade deficit the philippines posted a trade deficit of mln dlrs in january compared with deficits of mln in january and mln in december government figures show the national census and statistics office ncso said imports of mln dlrs in january were up from mln in january and mln dlrs in december while exports of mln were up on the mln in january but lower than december s mln the country s medium term development plan targets a pct average annual growth in exports and a pct growth in imports the ncso said reuter 
japan says it trying to expand domestic demand japan has assured a meeting of trade ministers it is making every effort to expand domestic demand and restructure its economy japanese trade representative tsomu hata told an informal general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt meeting that in addition to demand boosting measures adopted last september a comprehensive economic program will be prepared after the budget is approved hata speaking at the first session of the two day meeting said agriculture is no exception to the goal of restructuring the economy but did not elaborate hata said protectionist pressures in the international economy are as strong as ever reflecting financial deficits payment imbalances and serious unemployment in many countries despite great potential developing economies are still confronted by grave difficulties particularly debt he added the basis for the talks is the gatt ministerial declaration last september in punta del este uruguay and the subsequent trade negotiating plan agreed in geneva it is essential that we first reaffirm here our commitment to implementing that plan as scheduled hata said hata added it is not constructive to speed up negotiations in some areas at the expense of others in order to rebuild the free trade system it is important for each participant to have domestic policies that will serve this end as part of its contribution japan plans in april to fundamentally improve its generalised system of preferences for industrial and mining products to make japan s domestic market more open to developing countries he said reuter 
australian minister says agriculture gatt priority australian trade minister john dawkins said if the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt does not give high priority to agricultural trade reform it will be neglecting the area of greatest crisis in a statement to the informal gatt trade ministers conference here he said agriculture is a problem which involves all countries and seriously affects the debt servicing abilities of a number of developing countries he said major countries should be showing leadership on this problem we will be giving close attention to the processes in the oecd organisation of economic cooperation and development and elsewhere leading to the venice economic summit where we will be looking to the participants to adopt a strong commitment to agricultural trade reform dawkins said the venice summit is scheduled for june he said australia s interests in the uruguay round the eighth under the gatt are wide ranging dawkins said he sees the round as providing a timely opportunity to secure further meaningful trade liberalisation in all sectors and to restore confidence in the multilateral system dawkins said initial meetings of the negotiating groups established in geneva after the gatt declaration last september in punta del este uruguay have made a reasonable start but it is vital that trade ministers maintain the pressure on these processes we must see that the commitments made at punta del este on standstill and rollback are carried into practice the standstill and rollback of protection offers the global trading system a chance to hold and wind back protection during the negotiations which are expected to last up to four years he said reuter 
bp grangemouth refinery shut hydrocracker damaged the entire british petroleum co plc refinery at grangemouth in scotland has been shut down following the explosion and fire that severely damaged the hydrocracker at the site a refinery spokesman said he said the rest of the bpd refinery including the bpd catalytic cracker was undamaged the whole refinery was closed pending enquiries but a decision when to reopen the main units will be taken in the next couple of days he said but there was extensive damage to the central part of the bpd hydrocracker which upgrades heavy oil products to gasoline and it will be out of operation for some months the spokesman said bp will not suffer supply shortages as a result of the explosion as it will be able to bring in product from other sources bp has a bpd refinery in rotterdam a bpd unit at ingolstadt west germany a bpd plant at lavera in france and a smaller swedish plant he said the explosion and fire in which one worker was killed occurred when the hydrocracker was not in operation the refinery as a whole had been operating at about half of its capacity since the end of january while an extensive overhaul was carried out on the north side of the complex where the hydrocracker is sited he said this work was scheduled to be completed by mid april but this is now being assessed following the hydrocracker accident two people were killed in an explosion and fire in a flare line at the grangemouth refinery on march but the spokesman said this incident was some yards from the latest accident reuter 
iraq reports raids iran s nowruz oil field iraq said its warplanes launched two bombing raids on iran s offshore nowruz oilfield in the northern gulf today a military spokesman quoted by the official iraqi news agency said platforms at the field were reduced to rubble he said attacks on the field miles northwest of iran s kharg island oil terminal were carried out at gmt he said today s raids fall within iraq s policy to deprive iranian rulers of oil revenue used to serve their aggressive aims iraqi planes yesterday raided the nearby ardeshir oil field resuming attacks on iranian targets after a month long lull reuter 
yeutter sees u s japan verging on trade conflict the united states and japan are on the brink of serious conflict on trade especially over semiconductors japanese unwillingness for public bodies to buy u s super computers and barriers to u s firms seeking to participate in the eight billion dlr kansai airport project u s trade representative clayton yeutter said he was talking to reporters yesterday on the eve of a two day meeting of trade ministers which will review progress made by committees set up after the uruguay meeting last september launched a new round of gatt general agreement on tariffs and trade talks european community ec commissioner willy de clercq meanwhile told reporters conflict between the world s three major trading and economic powers the ec the u s and japan set a poor example for other members of gatt australian trade minister john dawkins told the reporters bilateral retaliation at the enormous expense of the rest of the world was no way to solve trade disputes new zealand trade minister mike moore told his colleagues great progress had been made in preparing for the current round of gatt negotiations which must not be sidetracked the ministers have said they want to maintain the momentum towards fresh negotiations or avert serious trade conflicts yeutter said the problem with international trade talks was that they tended to get bogged down for years countries don t get very serious about negotiating until the end of the day which is maybe five or six years in the future he also said he did not consider the new u s congress as protectionist as it was months ago that s a very healthy development he added if you asked me about that a year or months ago i would have said that it was terribly protectionist members of congress that is the contemplative members of congress have begun to realise protectionism is not the answer to the billion dlr trade deficit yeutter said they ve also begun to realise that you cannot legislate solutions to a billion dollar trade deficit so they are more realistic and in my judgement more responsible on that issue than they were or months ago he added whether that will be reflected in the legislation that eventually emerges is another matter reuter 
next world trade negotiations must succeed nz ministers from more than nations were told by new zealand that the next international negotiations on liberalising trade would be the last this century and the cost of failure could not be measured trade minister mike moore told his colleagues at a welcoming ceremony before two days of talks here that great progress had been made in preparing for the negotiations which must not be sidetracked we live in troubled and dangerous times for the world trading system he said we have seen that the failure of the world trading system has caused great depression and conflict in the past our failure to maintain the momentum will be at great cost to us all moore said the cost of failure is beyond calculation it is our last hope and best opportunity this century we will not get another chance before the year he added the ministers are in new zealand to review world trade since the uruguay round talks last september the talks are also part of preparations for a full scale june meeting of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt in venice the uruguay meeting is considered by most countries to have been particularly successful with northern hemisphere countries managing to have service industries such as banking and insurance included in the next full round the southerners goal of including agricultural and tropical products also was met the meeting at this north island tourist resort is described by participants as informal and no declaration is expected moore said one aim was to instil a sense of political urgency to avert potential economic tragedy another was to seek ways of popularising freer trade to people who felt the pain of readjustment but could not see the benefits as well as preventing bush fires of confrontation while we proceed with orderly negotiations the meeting is being attended by overseas delegations including representatives of gatt and the economic community the delegates include u s trade representative clayton yeutter american sources say he is ready to state that the best way to reverse protectionist sentiment in the united states is to implement four key uruguay proposals an end to agricultural subsidies inclusion of trade in services and investments in gatt regulations tightening of restrictions on pirating of so called intellectual property such as trademarks patents and copyrights new rules to resolve trade disputes among gatt s member states earlier new zealand sources had said french foreign trade minister michel noir had pulled out of the informal gatt talks for domestic political reasons cabinet chief bernard prauge will lead the french delegation reuter 
swiss sight deposits rise mln francs sight deposits of commercial banks at the swiss national bank rose mln swiss francs in the second days of march to billion the national bank said foreign exchange reserves fell mln francs to billion sight deposits are a major indicator of money market liquidity in switzerland reuter 
study says oil price fall spurs bankruptcies the sharp drop in world oil prices the past year triggered a pct increase in bankruptcies in the country s oil states according to a study released by the american petroleum institute api api said the dunn and bradstreet study found that business failures rose nationally by pct in over but in the oil patch of the southwest the increase was pct it said bankruptcies in texas were up pct oklahoma pct colorado pct and louisiana pct in alaska failures rose by per cent it said api also said that three of the states with the highest number of bank failures last year were large oil and gas producers texas oklahoma and kansas reuter 
finland february trade surplus at mln markka finland had a mln markka trade surplus in february following an mln markka surplus in january and a mln surplus in february customs board preliminary figures showed exports in february were billion markka and imports billion compared with exports of billion and imports of billion in january and exports of billion and imports of billion in february last year reuter 
nigeria changes auction rules to defend naira nigeria s central bank has changed the rules governing its foreign exchange auctions in what analysts see as a means of defending the naira currency which has depreciated steadily the bank said in a statement that from april banks bidding for foreign exchange would have to pay at the rate they offered and not as presently at the rate of the lowest successful bid made at the auction this should discourage banks from bidding high to ensure that they were successful while paying the lower marginal rate analysts said the central bank also announced the auctions would be fortnightly not weekly beginning on april reuter 
gatt meeting hears plea for african debt relief debt among african countries will continue to grow and their economies will remain stifled unless developed countries lower their interest rates nigerian trade minister samaila mamman said today he told an informal meeting of the general agreement on tariffs and trade the widening gap between industrialized and developing countries and an unfair international economic system were major obstacles to growth in developing countries i wish to emphasize that the growth in the volume of the external indebtedness of african countries reflects the full effect of the deflationary monetary and trade policies of the developed market economy countries mamman said delegates from countries are attending the talks of the world trade body in the new zealand resort of taupo reuter 
japan says it trying to expand domestic demand japan has assured a meeting of trade ministers it is making every effort to expand domestic demand and restructure its economy japanese trade representative tsomu hata told an informal general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt meeting that in addition to demand boosting measures adopted last september a comprehensive economic program will be prepared after the budget is approved hata speaking at the first session of the two day meeting said agriculture is no exception to the goal of restructuring the economy but did not elaborate hata said protectionist pressures in the international economy are as strong as ever reflecting financial deficits payment imbalances and serious unemployment in many countries reuter 
japan in last ditch effort to save chip pact japan has launched a last ditch effort to salvage its computer micro chip pact with the united states sending a letter to top american policy makers setting out its case and instructing its producers to cut output further we must make our utmost effort to ward off any catastrophe ministry of international trade and industry miti deputy director general masaji yamamoto told reporters if hasty action is taken in the united states it will create very serious problems the reagan administration s economic policy is expected to meet thursday to review japanese compliance with the bilateral agreement hammered out last year under the pact tokyo agreed to stop selling cut price chips in world markets and to increase its imports of american semiconductors washington has accused japan of reneging on the deal by selling low priced chips in asia and by failing to boost american imports and has threatened to take retaliatory action in an effort to save the agreement miti is asking japanese chip makers to limit production in the hope that will boost domestic demand and reduce the incentive to export yamamoto said that japan will slash output of kilobit dynamic random access and erasable programmable read only memory chips by pct in the second quarter this follows a cutback of more than pct in the first three months of the year he said the cutbacks were already drying up the supply of chips available for export through unregulated distributors in the so called grey market we have almost no grey market he said supply is diminishing to help ensure that the cutbacks are implemented miti called in the president of japan s largest semiconductor maker nec corp nipn t last week he said it is also issuing specific instructions on production to the japanese subsidiary of texas instruments inc trade and industry minister hajime tamura spelled out the steps japan was taking to salvage the pact and appealed for u s understanding in a letter to top american policy makers the letter was sent today to u s secretary of state george schultz treasury secretary james baker commerce secretary malcolm baldrige and u s trade representative clayton yeutter the four who make up the economic policy council are expected to consider evidence presented by u s chip maker micron technology inc dram o of cut price japanese sales in hong kong yamamoto admitted that oki electric industry co s hong kong subsidiary had sold chips at an inappropriate level but denied that it was dumping chips at rock bottom prices if the united states uses this as proof of dumping we will present our rebuttal he said the sales though were inappropriate in the light of miti s advice to semiconductor makers to sell chips at well above production costs to avoid any hint of dumping he said he also called the case strange but he stopped short of endorsing japanese newspaper accusations that oki had been trapped into making the sales he did say though that micron publicized the invoice documenting the sales on the same day they were made and that oki was unable to locate the person who had bought the chips when it tried to buy them back last week reuter 
u s treasury s baker says currencies within ranges that better reflect fundamentals 
currencies better reflect fundamentals baker treasury secertary james baker said currencies were now within ranges that better reflected economic fundamentals in a speech to the annual meeting of the inter american development bank he said excchange have moved into ranges that better reflect economic fundamentals he noted that in particular that dollar has fallen from its high point in early helping to moderate protectionist pressures in the u s reuter 
iraq oil minister qassem ahmed taqi replaced iraqi news agency reports 
iraqi oil minister replaced official iraq s oil minister qassem ahmed taqi has been moved to the heavy industries ministry the official iraqi news agcny ina said tonight it quoted a presidential decree appointing oil ministry undersecretary isam abdul rahim al chalaby as the new oil minister the ministers of industry and communication and transport had both been relieved of their posts the news agency said no immediate explanation was given for the changes al chalaby is the head of the iraqi national oil company ina said the decree signed by president saddam hussein relieved the minister of heavy industries subhi yassin khadeir of his post and appointed him a presidential adviser his ministry was formerly known as the industry and mineral resources ministry the minister of communications and transport abdel jabbar abdel rahim al asadi was also relieved of his post and replaced by a member of the ruling baath party regional command mohammed hamza al zubeidi al zubedei is also a presidential adviser all three ministers involved in the reshuffle had spent more than four years in their posts reuter 
energy analyst proposes u s oil tariff energy analyst edward krapels said the united states should consider an oil tariff to keep u s dependence on imports below pct on the supply side the argument in favor of a contingent variable import tariff is most persuasive krapels president of energy security analysis inc said in a statement at a house energy and power subcommittee hearing an optimal tariff would be one implemented only if the international price of crude oil falls below say dlrs a barrel on the demand side the obvious policy is an excise tax on transportation fuels krapels said but william johnson of the jofree corp disagreed with the oil tariff proposal saying congress should remove price controls on natural gas repeal the windfall profits tax on oil companies allow exports of alaskan oil and provide tax incentives for u s oil production or at the least preserve exisiting tax incentives for drilling he also urging filling the strategic petroleum reserve at a faster rate richard adkerson of arthur andersen and co told the subcommittee oil imports were expected to increase because funds for exploration and development of domestic oil sources cannot now be economically justified due to low oil prices reuter 
iraq replaces oil minister in big govt shuffle iraqi president saddam hussein carried out his first major government shakeup in five years tonight naming a new oil minister in shuffling three posts one minister was dropped in the shuffle announced in a presidential decree it gave no reason for the changes in the government of the arab baath socialist party which has ruled iraq since a revolution in the decree named the head of the iraqi national oil company inoc isam abdul rahim al chalaby to take over as oil minister replacing qassem ahmed taqi taqi appointed oil minister in the last significant government reorganization in was moved to be minister of heavy industries reuter 
hughes u s rig count rises to u s drilling activity rose last week with the number of working rotary rigs up by to against working rigs one year ago hughes tool co said the improvement was the first increase this year in the weekly rig count which had dropped steadily since early january when a total of rotary rigs were working among individual states texas and oklahoma reported the biggest gains in drilling last week with increases of and respectively california and louisiana were each up by three and wyoming gained two additional working rigs hughes tool said it counted a total of rigs drilling on land rigs active offshore and drilling in inland waters in canada the rig count was up by two to against one year ago reuter 
amstutz says farm trade accord possible in u s agriculture undersecretary daniel amstutz said it is possible to reach a global agreement to scale back agricultural supports in calendar speaking to a senate agriculture appropriations committee hearing amstutz said i think we can reach agreement in calendar amstutz said the u s places a high priority on the uruguay round of global trade talks his comments followed a statement by secretary of state george shultz last week urging agriculture be the highest priority item during the upcoming summit of western heads of state in venice italy reuter 
chicago futures leader says markets can adapt foreign currency futures markets would not be harmed if the leading industrial countries agreed to restrict currency movements to within a narrow band said leo melamed chairman of the chicago mercantile exchange s cme executive committee the target zone would not affect our market i think at all a pct range in the deutsche mark gives us a healthy market melamed told reuters in an interview we were willing to live in the old smithsonian era with a four pct shift he said referring to permitted currency fluctuations in the early s one thing you can adjust is to make each contract a larger value as chairman of the cme in melamed was instrumental in the development of currency futures which now are crucial to the chicago exchange melamed said capital flows which he estimated can approach billion dlrs a day would overwhelm efforts by governments to control currency fluctuations they can do it for a day in terms of intervention an hour a week maybe but not over a period of time so it s unrealistic and it doesn t work and it s unnecessary the cme s top policymaker also said a decision by the exchange to advance the quarterly settlement time of its stock index futures contract to the morning from the afternoon would help eliminate dramatic price gyrations in futures and equity markets on so called triple witching day we think that the settlement in the morning will have a salutary effect so that over a longer period of time i think this issue triple witching will go away because of the change in the structure as of next june when the move is scheduled to go into effect he said melamed said proposed changes in floor practices by traders of the popular standard and poor s stock index future would address complaints of trading abuses and stimulate trading two weeks ago the cme board of directors proposed barring brokers on the top step of the pit from trading for their own account the board also proposed requiring brokers engaged in dual trading elsewhere in the pit to record personal trades to the nearest minute and curbing trading between broker groups the changes will in time have an extremely positive effect on the marketplace that s going to prove very very instrumental in increasing volume over time he said predicting the increase would come within a year melamed also chairman of dellsher investment co inc said the cme last week withdrew a proposal to put a point limit on the s and p index s daily price movement when the commodity futures trading commission told the exchange it could not be a temporary program the cme also received many negative comments many more than we anticipated melamed conceded many futures commission merchants predicted sell orders would accelerate in the event the price approached the bottom limit reuter 
u k profitted from autumn intervention lawson britain has reaped profits by using a stronger pound to buy back dollars used by the government last autumn to support sterling during a currency crisis chancellor of the exchequer nigel lawson said he said in a parliamentary debate i can now tell the house of commons that the dollars that were sold from the reserves in september and october have subsequently all been repurchased at a profit of some tens of millions of pounds hindsight had proved him right to resist market pressures then for a two percentage point interest rate rise he said the increase in base rates was instead limited then to one point during a debate on the british budget which lawson unveiled last week he said that during the period of foreign exchange market turbulence which followed the somewhat inconclusive group of five and group of seven meetings at the end of september i authorised the bank of england to intervene unusually heavily in order to buy breathing space that would enable me to confine the interest rate rise to one pct rather than the two pct the market was then pressing for he said that that one percentage point increase effected in october had been reversed by this month s two half point cuts in banks base lending rates they are now at pct treasury figures show that the underlying change in british reserves seen as a guide to possible bank of england intervention on foreign exchange markets suggest that the authorities sold around billion dlrs during september and october government sources said reuter 
tokyo bank of japan buys small amount of dollars dealers said 
miyazawa says time has come for major nations to act on exchange rates 
major nations must act on currencies miyazawa finance minister kiichi miyazawa said the time has come for major industrialised nations to take action on exchange rates in line with their agreement last month in paris in paris britain canada france japan the u s and west germany agreed to coooperate to hold currency rates around their then current levels miyazawa would not say what specific measures major nations would take but told reporters the measures had been discussed in paris the dollar fell to a record low against the yen this morning piercing the yen barrier reuter 
yeutter sees gatt consensus on farm trade reform u s trade representative clayton yeutter said trade ministers meeting here have reached a general consensus on agricultural trade reform under the latest uruguay round of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt yeutter gave no precise details of the understanding but told journalists the consensus covers the principles involved in agricultural trade reform and what needs to be done to improve the global situation in agriculture delegates from countries are meeting informally to discuss progress made since the latest gatt round was launched in punta del este uruguay last september yeutter said at least people seem to be going down the same road but how that translates ultimately into negotiations is another matter entirely there seems to be an understanding of the need to deal with the problem quickly and a more common understanding of how we are going to get from here to there yeutter said however the hard work is still to come with a couple of years of tough negotiations ahead he said it is ludicrous for the nations of the world to plough immense amounts of financial resources into the production of items that nobody wants to buy he said he said the long term answer is to switch some of the financial resources now committed to agriculture to other more productive areas this would help agriculture because some its inefficient non productive segments would stop operating he said individual segments in many countries may lose in the process but it should result in a more rational system of world wide production within or years he said it is important that the agriculture negotiations reach a relatively early conclusion because the u s is spending billion dlrs a year and the european community probably more than that which is an ineffective use of financial resources he said asked about the prospect of a priority for agriculture in the negotiations he said one has to be politically realistic if there is any chance of getting it agricultural trade reform done in two to three years it s going to have to be as part of a larger package reuter 
australian minister sees targeted oil tax strategy australia s crude oil tax strategy is probably best tackled in terms of a targeted rather than broadly based approach federal resources and energy minister gareth evans told a meeting here he told the australian petroleum exploration association apea annual conference there was a prospect of developing a package that would recognise the government s economic priorities while also meeting some of the industry s concerns evans was referring to a nearly completed government review of oil taxation evans said there were plenty of examples where targeted approaches to oil industry taxation had produced good results in recent years these include the reduction in the top marginal crude excise rate on old bass strait oil found before september to pct from pct and the waiver of excise on onshore oil announced last september he said the industry through the apea has been calling for the elimination of secondary taxation on oil in order to boost incentives for prospecting against a background of weak prices and australia s relatively low exploration levels while nobody wants to add further unnecessary complexity to an already complex taxation regime i am inclined to favour these kinds of tailored approaches ahead of sweeping changes which leave government revenue much reduced and may still leave a lot of uncertainty as to what individual companies are going to do in major areas evans said he said the government did not intend to change its resource rent taxation rrt legislation now before parliament in response to industry calls to allow all exploration expenditure in a given area to be deductible as previously reported rrt is a tax of pct limited to highly prospective offshore areas based on profits after a certain rate of return has been achieved for individual projects apea has said it is not a true profit based tax because exploration deductibility is limited to successful projects evans said the decision not to change rrt was based more than anything on the government s desire to ensure the certainty and stability of the new regime adding that major investments have already been planned on the existing ground rules reuter 
gatt round may stop growing trade problems u s a successful new gatt general agreement on tariffs and trade round is needed to halt growing bilateral trade problems between major trading partners u s trade representative clayton yeutter said yeutter in new zealand for informal gatt ministerial talks told reuters bilateral trade disputes are increasing because the multilateral system is inefficient that is really a strong rationale why we need a new gatt round he said the very existence of all these bilateral irritants clearly emphasises the need to develop multilateral solutions to some of these problems the eighth gatt round of negotiations was launched at punta del este in uruguay in september agriculture and services were included in the negotiations for the first time the growing debt burden of latin american and african nations will also provide impetus for the gatt round to succeed he said clearly those countries need to develop their export endeavours and they need open markets for that to happen and that s the basic objective of the new gatt round he said but he said the gatt round is a long term endeavour it will not give any short term relief for debt ridden countries but it will make a difference in to years it s a worthwhile activity from their standpoint because these debts are not going to go away in the next year or two he said they ought to be very strongly supported in the gatt round as a mechanism for relieving their debt burdens or making possible debt amortisation in the future he said reuter 
nakasone intervenes in microchip dispute with u s prime minister yasuhiro nakasone intervened to try to resolve japan s escalating dispute with the u s over semiconductor trade government officials said at today s cabinet meeting nakasone told trade and industry minister hajime tamura to redouble his efforts to calm u s anger over what it sees as japan s unfair trade practices in semiconductors nakasone intervened only two days before a scheduled meeting of the reagan administration s economic policy council to consider whether japan is reneging on its microchip pact with the u s that pact agreed last year after months of negotiations calls on japan to stop selling cut price chips in world markets and to raise its imports of u s semiconductors senior u s officials have accused tokyo of failing to live up to the accord and have threatened retaliatory action yesterday tamura s ministry of international trade and industry miti launched a last ditch attempt to salvage the pact by writing letters to u s policy makers setting out japan s case and telling japanese chip makers to cut output in his letter the contents of which were released today tamura said a miti survey carried out at the beginning of march showed japanese producers were not selling at cut rate prices in asian markets in a separate letter sent to senior u s officials miti vice minister for international affairs makoto kuroda suggested the two countries could conduct a joint investigation into allegations of japanese chip dumping in such markets reuter 
sumita says bank of japan will intervene if necessary 
world bank chief pledges support to indonesia world bank president barber conable pledged the bank s support to help indonesia adjust to lower world oil prices but said further deregulation of its protected economy was needed speaking to reporters after talks with president suharto he said he expected jakarta to do more to liberalise the economy and deregulate trade policy indonesia hurt by the fall in oil prices last year which cut the value of its crude exports in half is the third world s sixth largest debtor it has received billion dlrs from the world bank in the past years conable said the world bank which granted indonesia a mln dlr loan last month to help its balance of payments was prepared to back jakarta in taking the right steps to adjust to lower oil and primary commodity prices we are prepared to support those steps which we believe are consistent with the development of the indonesian economy he said he said jakarta s willingness to move quickly after last year s collapse in oil price saved indonesia from some of the difficulties now faced by other countries indonesia devalued its currency by pct against the dollar in september to avoid a balance of payments crisis and has announced a series of measures since may intended to stimulate exports encourage foreign investment and revitalise the economy however key monopolies in areas like steel and plastics and high tariff barriers remain in place conable arrived in indonesia on saturday and has since met indonesian cabinet ministers to review the country s borrowing needs and the impact of falling oil prices on the country reuter 
sumita says bank will intervene if necessary bank of japan governor satoshi sumita said in a statement the central bank will intervene in foreign exchange markets to stabilise exchange rates if necessary in close cooperation with other major industrial nations sumita said the bank will take adequate measures including market intervention if necessary in line with the february paris agreement by six major industrial nations canada britain france japan the u s and west germany agreed to cooperate in stabilising exchange rates around current levels sumita s statement was issued after the dollar slipped below yen to hit a record low of it is inevitable that exchange rates fluctuate under the system of floating rates sumita said the fact the dollar plunged below yen does not mean anything significant under the floating system he said the six nations agreed in paris exchange rates prevailing then were broadly consistent with underlying economic fundamentals and further substantial rate shifts could damage growth and adjustment prospects in their countries the paris statement said reuter 
yeutter says u s japan trade difficulties remain u s trade representative clayton yeutter said he was unsure whether some of the trade issues straining u s japanese relations would be resolved before the two countries open trade talks in late april we are having high level discussions on them the issues within the united states the relationship on some of those is very strained between us japan at the moment and we need to relieve those strains at the earliest possible date he said i am not sure we can wait until late april he added yeutter is in new zealand for a two day informal meeting of trade ministers who are reviewing the uruguay round of the general agreement on trade and tariffs gatt he said he will meet the japanese delegation over the next few days but declined to discuss methods of relieving the strain between the two countries yeutter said earlier the three most contentious trade issues were semiconductors japanese government unwillingness to allow public entities to buy u s super computers and the barring of u s firms from the eight billion u s dlr kansai airport project near osaka the japanese delegation to the gatt talks said in a statement yesterday they are making major efforts to dismantle trade barriers in their country i am convinced that they are attempting to move their policies in the right direction the question is how far and how fast yeutter said reuter 
kuwait says opec mln bpd below ceiling kuwaiti oil minister sheikh ali al khalifa al sabah said opec was producing well below its oil output ceiling and this would help prices move higher according to a kuwaiti newspaper interview the al rai al aam newspaper quoted him as saying opec was pumping mln barrels per day bpd less than its mln bpd ceiling while consumers were drawing down their petroleum stocks at a rate of mln bpd as long as opec maintains its output curbs demand for its oil will rise in april and may sheikh ali said adding that kuwait was strongly committed to its opec quota reuter 
australian oil industry to continue tax campaign the council of the australian petroleum exploration association apea said it will press on with its campaign for major improvements to australia s petroleum taxation structure the council said in a statement the industry was bitterly disappointed by the australian government s position on taxation as presented in a speech by resources and energy minister gareth evans to the apea conference as earlier reported evans said he was inclined to target any tax changes rather than take a broad based approach to secondary taxation of petroleum apea had expected the government to make positive responses to detailed industry submissions seeking the removal of existing secondary tax disincentives to exploration and development the council said it said it plans to reply in detail to issues raised by evans but its immediate concern was the decision to proceed with the current resource rental tax rrt legislation evans told the conference the government did not plan to accept industry pleas for changes in the legislation to allow deductibility of unsuccessful exploration expenditure the government s unwillingness to allow the deduction of unsuccessful exploration expenditure within the whole offshore area in which rrt applies negates any claim that the tax is profit based the apea council said the government missed a major opportunity to persuade oil exploration companies that it had realistic answers to the industry s concerns despite its recognition of the industry s problems the council said the industry has called for the end of all discriminatory secondary taxation of petroleum citing them as major disincentives at a time of low oil prices reuter 
german february import prices fall import prices in west germany fell pct in february from january to stand pct below their level in february the federal statistics office said in january the import price index base was unchanged compared with december but pct lower against january february export prices same base as import prices were unchanged compared with january and pct lower than in february in january export prices fell pct against december to stand pct lower than in january reuter 
u k money market deficit forecast at mln stg the bank of england said it forecast a shortage of around mln stg in the money market today among the main factors affecting liquidity bills maturing in official hands and the take up of treasury bills will drain some mln stg while bankers balances below target will take out around mln stg partly offsetting these outflows a fall in note circulation and exchequer transactions will add some mln stg and mln stg to the system respectively reuter 
canada outlines gatt agricultural reform plan canadian trade minister pat carney said that agricultural policies should not hurt world international trade and should therefore become more price responsive over time she told delegates at the informal meeting of trade ministers that this was one of five principles canada wanted adopted in reforming agriculture in the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt secondly support for agriculture should avoid production incentives and thirdly countries should freeze and seek to reduce government aid measures that distorted world prices carney said carney said the fourth principle was that countries should not introduce new import barriers not mandated by existing legislation and the fifth was that these basic principles must be implemented collectively carney later told reuters the canadian guidelines are basically compatible with the seven point australian proposals announced in davos switzerland in january european trade sources said the conference welcomed the canadian initiative but some delegates and not only the european community voiced reservations about some of the principles carney said there was a lot of political will among the ministers here to complete the uruguay round of gatt in under four years and that there is also a realisation that it has to be done in a balanced way the consensus view was to proceed as fast as we can on a broad front and see what areas emerge where we can get early conclusion she said however the meeting did not identify what those areas are carney said she said canada u s bilateral trade negotiations which must be concluded at least in draft form by october are progressing well reuter 
philippine trade secretary pleased with gatt talks philippine secretary of trade and industry jose concepcion who two days ago expressed doubts about agreements produced at international conferences said he was pleased with the latest gathering here concepcion told reuters in an interview that the informal general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt meeting gave ministers from more than nations the chance to examine issues with which gatt did not have the political will to deal also the role of the developing countries has been emphasised in this particular meeting somehow it has been the perception of developing countries that gatt is a club of rich countries he added in an interview with reuters in fact many of the issues that have been tabled for discussion in the uruguay round of trade negotiations will be of more benefit to the developed countries he said concepcion said at the start of the taupo meeting that the uruguay round was meant to be a shining act of faith in the world trade system concepcion said the philippines would address the issues of trade in tropical fruit and the improvement of gatt machinery to make it more responsive he said tropical fruit came from developing countries but faced non tariff barriers quantitative restrictions or very high duties in other nations concepcion named japan and south korea as examples he said he would go to wellington for talks with new zealand which had a surplus in trade with the philippines to encourage it to switch imports from other countries he noted that new zealand bought its bananas from ecuador reuter 
miyazawa says u s likely to intervene finance minister kiichi miyazawa told parliament s lower house finance committee that the u s is expected to intervene in the foreign exchange market to stabilise exchange rates political sources said asked if the u s federal reserve board agreed in paris last month to intervene to stabilise exchange rates miyazawa said yes the sources said miyazawa was also quoted as saying that he is sceptical about the effectiveness of currency reference ranges even if major nations agree on such an idea as it is extremely difficult to set such ranges reuter 
sumita says bank will intervene if necessary bank of japan governor satoshi sumita said in a statement the central bank will intervene in foreign exchange markets to stabilise exchange rates if necessary in close cooperation with other major industrial nations sumita said the bank will take adequate measures including market intervention if necessary in line with the february paris agreement by six major industrial nations canada britain france japan the u s and west germany agreed to cooperate in stabilising exchange rates around current levels sumita s statement was issued after the dollar slipped below yen to hit a record low of it is inevitable that exchange rates fluctuate under the system of floating rates sumita said the fact the dollar plunged below yen does not mean anything significant under the floating system he said the six nations agreed in paris exchange rates prevailing then were broadly consistent with underlying economic fundamentals and further substantial rate shifts could damage growth and adjustment prospects in their countries the paris statement said reuter 
yeutter sees gatt consensus on farm trade reform u s trade representative clayton yeutter said trade ministers meeting here have reached a general consensus on agricultural trade reform under the latest uruguay round of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt yeutter gave no precise details of the understanding but told journalists the consensus covers the principles involved in agricultural trade reform and what needs to be done to improve the global situation in agriculture delegates from countries are meeting informally to discuss progress made since the latest gatt round was launched in punta del este uruguay last september yeutter said at least people seem to be going down the same road but how that translates ultimately into negotiations is another matter entirely there seems to be an understanding of the need to deal with the problem quickly and a more common understanding of how we are going to get from here to there yeutter said however the hard work is still to come with a couple of years of tough negotiations ahead he said it is ludicrous for the nations of the world to plough immense amounts of financial resources into the production of items that nobody wants to buy he said he said the long term answer is to switch some of the financial resources now committed to agriculture to other more productive areas this would help agriculture because some its inefficient non productive segments would stop operating he said individual segments in many countries may lose in the process but it should result in a more rational system of world wide production within or years he said it is important that the agriculture negotiations reach a relatively early conclusion because the u s is spending billion dlrs a year and the european community probably more than that which is an ineffective use of financial resources he said asked about the prospect of a priority for agriculture in the negotiations he said one has to be politically realistic if there is any chance of getting it agricultural trade reform done in two to three years it s going to have to be as part of a larger package reuter 
nakasone intervenes in microchip dispute prime minister yasuhiro nakasone intervened to try to resolve japan s escalating dispute with the u s over semiconductor trade government officials said at today s cabinet meeting nakasone told trade and industry minister hajime tamura to redouble his efforts to calm u s anger over what it sees as japan s unfair trade practices in semiconductors nakasone intervened only two days before a scheduled meeting of the reagan administration s economic policy council to consider whether japan is reneging on its microchip pact with the u s that pact agreed last year after months of negotiations calls on japan to stop selling cut price chips in world markets and to raise its imports of u s semiconductors senior u s officials have accused tokyo of failing to live up to the accord and have threatened retaliatory action yesterday tamura s ministry of international trade and industry miti launched a last ditch attempt to salvage the pact by writing letters to u s policy makers setting out japan s case and telling japanese chip makers to cut output in his letter the contents of which were released today tamura said a miti survey carried out at the beginning of march showed japanese producers were not selling at cut rate prices in asian markets in a separate letter sent to senior u s officials miti vice minister for international affairs makoto kuroda suggested the two countries could conduct a joint investigation into allegations of japanese chip dumping in such markets reuter 
canada outlines gatt agricultural reform plan canadian trade minister pat carney said that agricultural policies should not hurt world international trade and should therefore become more price responsive over time she told delegates at the informal meeting of trade ministers that this was one of five principles canada wanted adopted in reforming agriculture in the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt secondly support for agriculture should avoid production incentives and thirdly countries should freeze and seek to reduce government aid measures that distorted world prices carney said carney said the fourth principle was that countries should not introduce new import barriers not mandated by existing legislation and the fifth was that these basic principles must be implemented collectively carney later told reuters the canadian guidelines are basically compatible with the seven point australian proposals announced in davos switzerland in january european trade sources said the conference welcomed the canadian initiative but some delegates and not only the european community voiced reservations about some of the principles carney said there was a lot of political will among the ministers here to complete the uruguay round of gatt in under four years and that there is also a realisation that it has to be done in a balanced way the consensus view was to proceed as fast as we can on a broad front and see what areas emerge where we can get early conclusion she said however the meeting did not identify what those areas are carney said she said canada u s bilateral trade negotiations which must be concluded at least in draft form by october are progressing well reuter 
major nations must act on currencies miyazawa finance minister kiichi miyazawa said the time has come for major industrialised nations to take action on exchange rates in line with their agreement last month in paris in paris britain canada france japan the u s and west germany agreed to coooperate to hold currency rates around their then current levels miyazawa would not say what specific measures major nations would take but told reporters the measures had been discussed in paris the dollar fell to a record low against the yen this morning piercing the yen barrier asked if major nations were now negotiating on what measures to take miyazawa said they were not as measures had already been agreed in paris reuter 
kuwait says opec mln bpd below ceiling kuwaiti oil minister sheikh ali al khalifa al sabah said opec was producing well below its oil output ceiling and this would help prices move higher according to a kuwaiti newspaper interview the al rai al aam newspaper quoted him as saying opec was pumping mln barrels per day bpd less than its mln bpd ceiling while consumers were drawing down their petroleum stocks at a rate of mln bpd as long as opec maintains its output curbs demand for its oil will rise in april and may sheikh ali said adding that kuwait was strongly committed to its opec quota reuter 
miyazawa says u s likely to intervene finance minister kiichi miyazawa told parliament s lower house finance committee that the u s is expected to intervene in the foreign exchange market to stabilise exchange rates political sources said asked if the u s federal reserve board agreed in paris last month to intervene to stabilise exchange rates miyazawa said yes the sources said miyazawa was also quoted as saying that he is sceptical about the effectiveness of currency reference ranges even if major nations agree on such an idea as it is extremely difficult to set such ranges reuter 
yeutter says u s japan trade difficulties remain u s trade representative clayton yeutter said he was unsure whether some of the trade issues straining u s japanese relations would be resolved before the two countries open trade talks in late april we are having high level discussions on them the issues within the united states the relationship on some of those is very strained between us japan at the moment and we need to relieve those strains at the earliest possible date he said i am not sure we can wait until late april he added yeutter is in new zealand for a two day informal meeting of trade ministers who are reviewing the uruguay round of the general agreement on trade and tariffs gatt he said he will meet the japanese delegation over the next few days but declined to discuss methods of relieving the strain between the two countries yeutter said earlier the three most contentious trade issues were semiconductors japanese government unwillingness to allow public entities to buy u s super computers and the barring of u s firms from the eight billion u s dlr kansai airport project near osaka the japanese delegation to the gatt talks said in a statement yesterday they are making major efforts to dismantle trade barriers in their country i am convinced that they are attempting to move their policies in the right direction the question is how far and how fast yeutter said reuter 
u k money market given mln stg assistance the bank of england said it had provided the money market with mln stg assistance in the morning session this compares with the bank s forecast of a mln stg shortage in the system today the central bank bought bills outright in band two at pct comprising mln stg bank bills and mln stg local authority bills reuter 
taiwan proposes further tariff cuts taiwan said it plans another round of tariff cuts possibly within a month to try to narrow its trade surplus with the u s vice finance minister ronald ho said a high level economic committee recommended tariff cuts on products requested by washington including apples chocolates and fruit juice ho said the cuts may come into effect by the end of next month taiwan s trade surplus with the u s widened in the first two months of this year to billion dlrs from billion dlrs in the same period last year reuter 
taiwan proposes further tariff cuts taiwan said it plans another round of tariff cuts possibly within a month to try to narrow its trade surplus with the u s vice finance minister ronald ho said a high level economic committee recommended tariff cuts on products requested by washington including apples chocolates and fruit juice ho said the cuts may come into effect by the end of next month taiwan s trade surplus with the u s widened in the first two months of this year to billion dlrs from billion dlrs in the same period last year reuter 
sumita says bank will intervene if necessary bank of japan governor satoshi sumita said in a statement the central bank will intervene in foreign exchange markets to stabilise exchange rates if necessary in close cooperation with other major industrial nations sumita said the bank will take adequate measures including market intervention if necessary in line with the february paris agreement by six major industrial nations canada britain france japan the u s and west germany agreed to cooperate in stabilising exchange rates around current levels sumita s statement was issued after the dollar slipped below yen to hit a record low of it is inevitable that exchange rates fluctuate under the system of floating rates sumita said the fact the dollar plunged below yen does not mean anything significant under the floating system he said the six nations agreed in paris exchange rates prevailing then were broadly consistent with underlying economic fundamentals and further substantial rate shifts could damage growth and adjustment prospects in their countries the paris statement said reuter 
gatt round may stop growing trade problems u s a successful new gatt general agreement on tariffs and trade round is needed to halt growing bilateral trade problems between major trading partners u s trade representative clayton yeutter said yeutter in new zealand for informal gatt ministerial talks told reuters bilateral trade disputes are increasing because the multilateral system is inefficient that is really a strong rationale why we need a new gatt round he said the very existence of all these bilateral irritants clearly emphasises the need to develop multilateral solutions to some of these problems the eighth gatt round of negotiations was launched at punta del este in uruguay in september agriculture and services were included in the negotiations for the first time the growing debt burden of latin american and african nations will also provide impetus for the gatt round to succeed he said clearly those countries need to develop their export endeavours and they need open markets for that to happen and that s the basic objective of the new gatt round but he said the gatt round is a long term endeavour it will not give any short term relief for debt ridden countries but it will make a difference in to years it s a worthwhile activity from their standpoint because these debts are not going to go away in the next year or two he said they ought to be very strongly supported in the gatt round as a mechanism for relieving their debt burdens or making possible debt amortisation in the future he said reuter 
u k money market given further mln stg help the bank of england said it provided the money market with assistance of mln stg in the afternoon session this takes the bank s total help so far today to mln stg and compares with its estimate of a mln stg shortage the central bank bought outright mln stg in bank bills in band two at pct reuter 
indonesia urged to deregulate its economy world bank president barber conable linked increased borrowing by indonesia the third world s sixth largest debtor to fresh measures to deregulate trade and dismantle protectionist barriers we would like to see the indonesian government continue the adjustment process to move towards increased deregulation of the economy conable told a press conference at the end of a three day visit to jakarta conable directly linked further bank help for indonesia s hard pressed balance of payments to further measures by the government to reduce protectionism and increase efficiency the world bank last month granted indonesia a mln dlr trade adjustment loan he said further loans would depend on the economic policies indonesia adopted but he said that in meetings with both president suharto and leading indonesian ministers he had not called for specific policy changes the initiative will have to rest with the indonesian government we are not here to dictate to them he stated indonesia the only asian member of opec has been badly hit by last year s slump in oil prices which cut its revenues from crude exports in half conable had what he termed a frank meeting this morning with suharto he voiced support for measures already taken including september s pct devaluation of the rupiah and efforts to deregulate imports and stimulate exports the government can rely on the support of the world bank in a continuing program of adjustment to the economic realities of today s world he said the bank has loaned indonesia billion dlrs over the past years lending is now about one billion a year the world bank would probably like to see further dismantling of tarrif barriers and measures to reduce indonesia s protected monopolies in areas like steel plastics and cement western bankers and diplomats said the government has already said it will announce further deregulation measures but has given no timetable it is also considering selling off loss making state companies conable said the bank would try to help indonesia find funds to cover its share of development projects which otherwise would have to be scrapped or postponed japan s ex im bank announced a mln dlr untied credit last month reuter 
shell to declare norway s draugen field commercial a s norske shell royal dutch shell group s rd as norwegian subsidiary said it has nearly concluded a billion crown development scheme for norway s draugen oil field and will declare the field commercial in the near future pending government approval of the scheme the field could come on stream in making it norway s northermost field development and the first such project on the haltenbanken tract off central norway work on the project could begin as early as january a shell spokesman said shell has not released projected output levels for the field where water depth is meters the spokesman said the field s partners have agreed to develop draugen with a meter single leg concrete gravity base platform the scheme also proposes using remote subsea production wells to tap the field s reservoir estimated to contain mln barrels of oil and an offshore buoy loading system to transport oil from the field by ship partners on draugen are shell the operator with a pct stake british petroleum co plc bp l unit bp petroleum development norway ltd pct and state owned den norske stats oljeselskap a s stat ol statoil pct reuter 
u k money market given mln stg late assistance the bank of england said it provided the money market with late help of about mln stg this takes the bank s total help today to some mln stg and compares with its forecast of a mln stg shortage reuter 
u s energy secretary optimistic on incentives u s department of energy secretary john herrington said he was optimistic about the chances of providing a more generous depletion allowance for oil and gas producers but added that the plan faces strong opposition from some members of the reagan administration herrington speaking to houston oil executives at a breakfast meeting said administration debate over his plan for a pct annual depletion allowance was heavy and strong largely because of some fears that the u s oil industry could eventually become as dependent on federal subsidies as the agriculture industry herrington s proposed tax incentives for the oil industry were issued last week after the department of energy released a comprehensive report finding u s national security could be jeopardized by rising oil imports in response to a question from mitchell energy and development corp mnd chairman george mitchell herrington said the report did not definitively rule out an oil import tarrif we intend to keep that debate open herrington said however following his speech herrington told reuters that the new report shows an oil import fee is not economical herrington said for example a dlr per barrel tariff on oil imports would cause the nation s gross national product to drop by as much as billion dlrs herrington also said he believed president reagan who requested the comprehensive national security study was committed to some action to help the ailing u s oil industry i m quite confident he understands the problems and is prepared to do something about it herrington said reuter 
sudan rejects imf demand for devaluation sudan has rejected a demand by the international monetary fund for a currency devaluation because such a move would have a negative impact on its economy the official sudan news agency suna reported finance minister beshir omer quoted by suna said his government also rejected an imf demand to lift state subsidies on basic consumer goods suna monitored by the british broadcasting corporation said omer made the remarks after a meeting in khartoum yesterday with imf envoy abdel shakour shaalan sudan burdened by a foreign debt of billion dlrs is some mln dlrs in arrears to the imf which declared it ineligible for fresh loans in february last year in february sudan announced a pct devaluation of its pound against the dollar adjusting the official exchange rate to pounds to the u s currency since then it has resisted pressure from main creditors for more currency adjustments arguing that past devaluations had failed to boost exports but raised local consumer prices sudan also has an incentive rate of four pounds to the dollar for foreign visitors and remittances by expatriate workers dealers in khartoum s thriving black market said the dollar was sold at pounds today with stringent import regulations and the government increasingly short of foreign currency black market dollars are used to finance smuggled imports from neighbouring countries mainly egypt kenya ethiopia and zaire western diplomats in khartoum say the meetings between imf and sudanese government officials do not amount to formal talks but rather an effort by the imf to monitor sudan s economic performance the diplomats said sudan hoped a planned four year economic recovery program would be acceptable to the imf as a serious attempt to tackle the country s economic troubles and persuade its gulf arab creditors to pay the imf arrears this they said could provide sudan with a clean bill of health from the imf that it could take to western government creditors grouped informally in the so called paris club to reschedule debt payments twenty three pct of sudan s total foreign debt is owed to members of the paris club the diplomats said sudan s finance minister said last month the country s imf representative had told him the fund s executive board was very pleased with the mln dlrs arrears we have paid in the past couple of months the representative omer said said imf managing director michel camdessus said he would ask saudi arabia to which sudan owes about billion dlrs to help khartoum to pay more sudan has an annual debt liability of nearly mln dlrs but set aside only some mln dlrs to service debts in the fiscal year ending next june reuter 
oil tax break ridiculed by u s house taxwriter a house taxwriter said energy secretary james herrington s outrageous plan to restore an old tax break for oil companies was both bad tax and energy policy rep pete stark a california democrat and senior house ways and means committee member said herrington s plan for a pct depletion allowance which in effect is a special pct tax deduction would cost seven billion dlrs a year he must have missed the last two years of federal tax reform by sleeping as soundly as rip van winkle stark said he said in a statement the oil industry already pays an effective lower rate of u s tax on investment pct versus aggregate corporate tax on all investment of pct according to a recent congressional research service study reuter 
fed governor supports commodity price guide robert heller a member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system said commodity prices could form a useful guide for setting domestic and international monetary policy speaking to the conservative heritage foundation heller said a broadly based commodity price index may be worth exploring as a guide to monetary policy in times of rising commodity prices monetary policy might be tightened and in times of falling commodity prices monetary policy might be eased he said commodities are also standardized to avoid measurement problems and occur at the beginning of production so as to give early warning signs of wholesale and retail changes there is no need to react to every small fluctuation in commodity prices or to do so on a daily basis heller said in a prepared text but if commodity prices exhibit a broad trend a policy action might be considered he said heller said using a broad based commodity price index as an indicator for monetary policy would also contribute to stabilized currency exchange rates commodity prices are generally uniform worldwide and prices for them are more consistent than for other types of goods he said he said other beneficial effects would be to stabilize export commodity prices for developing countries by using a commodity basket as a guidepost for monetary policy reuter 
fed s heller says he wants to see stronger japanese demand for american goods 
goodyear gt unit to start up pipeline goodyear tire and rubber co said the all american pipeline of its celeron corp subsidiary will start line fill activities on march as it begins operating the company said about five mln barrels of oil will be required to pack the completed segment of the line which runs miles from near santa barbara calif to existing pipeline connections in west texas construction has also staqrted this week on a mile inch diameter gathering line to deliver to barrels a day of oil from the san joaquin valley in california the inch main underground line can transport over barrels daily reuter 
u s house panel eases soviet export controls the u s house foreign affairs committee voted to ease restrictions on exports that are now kept from shipment to soviet bloc countries but are no longer a threat to u s national security the democratic controlled committee said the administration s export control policies which restrict shipment of thousands of products contributed to last year s record billion dlr u s trade deficit the committee said the legislation will cut government red tape and make it easier for u s companies to compete with foreign producers since many of the goods are readily available from other countries rep don bonker chairman of the international economic policy subcommittee said the unnecessary restrictions had cost the u s billion dlrs in exports a year this is congress number one opportunity to attack the trade deficit in a positive way by exporting more the washington democrat said the legislation would order the commerce department to lift controls on pct of goods on the restricted export list over the next three years unless other countries agree to comparable controls most of these are of the least sophisticated type of technology such as medical instruments it would also give the commerce department primary authority to decide which exports will be permitted and limit the defense department to an advisory role in reviewing requests to export highly sensitive technology reuter 
baldrige says changes needed in exchange rates of currencies pegged to dollar 
unionist urges retaliation against japan william bywater president of the international union of electronic workers called on president reagan to retaliate against japan for unfair practices in semiconductor trade he said in a statement a crash program was needed in the semiconductor industry to prevent the united states from becoming one of the world s industrial lightweights bywater s remarks came as the white house economic policy council prepared for a thursday meeting to decide what sanctions if any should be taken against japan for alleged violations of a u s japanese semiconductors agreement the pact agreed to last july called for tokyo to end selling semiconductors at below cost and to open its home market to u s goods in return washington agreed to forego antidumping duties on japanese semiconductors but u s officials have said that while japan has stopped dumping in the u s market it has not ended third country dumping nor has it opened its market to u s semiconductors japan yesterday in an effort to ward off u s action ordered a cutback in semiconductors production as a way to force prices up and end the dumping bywater in his statement said he backed a defense science board task force proposal to set up a consortium to develop new electronic products and manufacturing processes and make the u s industory more competitive but he added the industry could not wait for legislation to pass and that action was required now to help the depressed electronic industry bywater said i urge the reagan administration to take full and severe action immediately against japan by invoking the retaliatory steps that are permitted under u s law and gatt general agreement on tariffs and trade reuter 
caltex to raise bahrain oil product prices caltex petroleum corp said it will raise posted prices for naphtha and several grades of residual fuel in bahrain effective march caltex a joint venture of chevron corp chv and texaco inc tx said its naphtha posting is up four cts a gallon to cts it said it is raising its marine diesel oil posting by cts a barrel to dlrs a barrel light medium and heavy fuel oil postings are up dlrs a barrel the company said this will bring the light fuel oil price to dlrs medium to dlrs and heavy to dlrs the company said reuter 
brazil computer market to remain closed minister brazilian science and technology minister renato archer said brazil will keep its computer market closed to foreign goods in order to give its own infant industry time to develop every country establishes laws to protect its interests the united states closed their borders at a certain stage to some foreign goods and therefore protected its industrial development now it is time for brazil to do likewise archer said at the opening of a national software conference after several meetings brazil and the u s have made no major progress in their computer row which they have been trying to resolve for the past months the reagan administration has objected to brazil protecting its computer industry from imports reuter 
venezuela to annouce partner for coal venture petroleos de venezuela s a will announce within two weeks the name of a foreign consortium it has chosen to help exploit the coal deposits at guasare in western zulia state pdvsa president juan chacin guzman said chacin told reporters the foreign partner will provide capital as well as technical and marketing expertise to the carbozulia project which the state oil company will manage pdvsa officials said that among those who bid for the partnership is a consortium between agip carbone a subsidiary of italy s ente nazionale idrocarburi eni and atlantic richfield arc of the united states minister of energy and mines arturo hernandez grisanti said discussions are currently taking place to finalize the terms of the contract with the foreign partner pdvsa vice president pablo reimpell said last week the first shipment of coal from the carbozulia project should be made during the final quarter of and would measure between metric tons plans call for production to eventually reach mt annually reimpell said the original investment in the project will be approximately billion bolivars reuter 
canada vows to fight u s potash action external affairs minister joe clark today vowed to do everything possible to fight the u s action against canadian potash exports but also warned against raising the alarm too early in the dispute in the latest flashpoint in canadian u s trade relations the u s international trade commission ruled unanimously monday that canadian potash shipments valued at million u s dlrs last year were injuring the u s industry we certainly intend to do everything we can to insure that canadian interests are well protected clark told the house of commons in the daily question period but he said the opposition parties should be careful not to raise false alarms too early the case now goes before the u s commerce department s trade division to determine if a duty should be imposed potash producers from new mexico claiming unfair government subsidies are seeking a pct tariff on canada s shipments canada the world s largest potash producer exported mln metric tonnes of potash last year with nearly a third going to the u s most of the potash used in the production of fertilizer comes from provincially owned mines in saskatchewan in the commons liberal member lloyd axworthy branded the ruling as just another trade harrassment from the u s and criticized clark s assurances the country s interests would be protected we received exactly the same kind of assurances in the softwood lumber case that was totally fumbled and bumbled axworthy said canada s progressive conservative government agreed to impose a pct duty on its softwood lumber exports earlier this year to end a long and bitter bilateral trade dispute with the u s axworthy urged the government to present canada s case to world trade authorities under the general agreement on tariffs and trade but clark maintained the potash dispute was another example of why canada needs to find a new way to settle bilateral irritants in the free trade negotiations under way with the u s what we are seeking to do is put in place a better system clark said meanwhile saskatchewan trade minister bob andrew expressed confidence canada would win its case claiming the problem stems from low international commodity prices and not government subsidies the reality of the problem and the injury is caused worldwide he said it s caused by a downturn in the commodity price for fertilizer whether it s potash fertilizer nitrogen fertilizer or whatever reuter 
current exchange rates almost within levels agreed by major nations sumita 
sumita says major nations cooperated to stabilise currencies 
exchange rates almost within g levels sumita bank of japan governor satoshi sumita said that current exchange rates are almost within the levels agreed to by six major nations last month in paris asked whether a dollar yen rate of or reflected economic fundamentals he said current rates almost reflect fundamentals sumita told reporters major nations have cooperated to bring about currency stability in line with the paris agreement which stipulated that they would closely cooperate to that end he repeated the central bank will intervene if necessary adding he did not think a dollar free fall was likely but sumita said he could not say exactly what currency levels would be considered in line with underlying economic fundamentals in paris on february britain canada france japan the u s and west germany agreed to cooperate to hold currencies around their then current levels sumita said he could not find any specific reasons behind the fall of the dollar to a record low against the yen yesterday but he said the market rushed to sell dollars as it nervously reacted to statements abroad and to developments surrounding trade tensions u s treasury secretary james baker said over the weekend that the paris pact did not encompass fixed tragets for the dollar u s trade representative clayton yeutter called u s japan relations on certain key trade issues very strained the market reacted nervously because the dollar has been moving narrowly against the yen since mid january sumita said he added he does not expect the yen dollar exchange rate to remain unstable because the market is concerned about a sharp rise of the yen the bank of japan will keep a close watch on exchange rates in line with the paris accord he added reuter 
n z trade surplus mln dlrs in february preliminary trade figures for february show an excess of exports over imports of mln n z dlrs a statistics department statement said this compares with a mln dlr deficit revised from mln in january and a mln dlr deficit in february exports rose to mln dlrs from mln revised from in january and in february imports dropped to an estimated mln dlrs from revised from in january and in february the deficit for the eight months to the end of february was mln dlrs as against billion dlrs in the same period a year ago reuter 
madagascar extends amoco oil exploration agreement madagascar extended its oil exploration agreement with the u s firm amoco corp an for months to allow for further studies of the morondava basin on the southwest coast a government statement said it said the existing five year agreement due to expire this july was extended until the end of to allow for additional geological and geophysical studies amoco has so far laid km of seismic lines and sunk five exploration wells in the morondava basin it may drill a further three wells before the end of the extended exploration period the statement said madagascar has signed oil exploration agreements with four foreign oil companies since but despite promising indications of large reserves no commercial production plans have yet been announced the foreign firms amoco occidental petroleum corp oxy mobil corp mob and a unit of ente nazionale idrocarburi are working in partnership with the national military office for strategic industries omnis roland ratsimandresy the director general of omnis said at a ceremenony to sign the extension of the amoco agreement that his department would intensify oil exploration with its existing partners and would soon offer a new round of exploration licences reuter 
belgolux trade swings into january deficit the belgo luxembourg economic union recorded a provisional trade deficit of billion francs in january after a december surplus of billion francs revised upwards from a provisional surplus of billion the national statistics office said in january the union recorded a deficit of billion francs january imports fell to a provisional billion francs from billion in december and billion a year earlier but exports were also lower at billion francs against billion and billion respectively reuter 
taiwan sees its investment in u s rising sharply taiwanese investment in the u s is expected to nearly double to mln u s dlrs in calendar and rise to mln dlrs a year by a five year forecast by the economic ministry showed taiwanese investment in the u s last year totalled mln dlrs the ministry document said the investment was mainly in electronics trading food and service industries lee ming yi deputy director of the ministry s industrial development and investment centre said the forecast rise is due to planned government incentives and growing willingness among taiwanese to invest abroad lee told reuters the incentives to be introduced in may or june include bank loans and a reduction in capitalisation requirements for businesses seeking to invest in the u s to mln taiwan dlrs from mln he said the moves to encourage investment in the u s are part of taiwan s efforts to cut its trade surplus with washington which rose to a record billion u s dlrs in from s billion taiwanese manufacturers can create jobs for americans and avoid import quotas if they set up plants in the u s he added reuter 
china to tighten import control cut export costs china should tighten imports of ordinary goods and restrict or even forbid import of goods which can be made domestically premier zhao ziyang said he told the national people s congress china s parliament that the country s foreign exchange is limited and must be used where it is most needed we should expand production of import substitutes and increase their proportion he said on exports china should increase its proportion of manufactured goods especially textiles light industrial goods electronics and machinery he said zhao said china should lower the cost of exports and control the export of goods that incur too much loss in china had a trade deficit of billion dlrs down from a record billion in zhao said china should work to provide a more favourable investment environment for foreign businessmen it should use foreign funds for production and construction with stress on firms making goods for export or import substitutes china should also earn more foreign exchange from tourists and contracted labour abroad he added reuter 
abu dhabi to reopen gulf oilfield hit in raid abu dhabi s offshore abu al bukhoosh oilfield in the gulf shut since an aerial attack last november will reopen when new anti aircraft defences are ready and this could be in the next two months oil industry sources said they said the abu dhabi government and compagnie francaise des petroles total tpn pa whose total abu al bukhoosh subsidiary owns pct of the field have agreed on the reopening but that a date has not been definitely fixed unidentified planes hit the field miles off abu dhabi last november the raid killed eight workers and destroyed the main living quarters and a bridge linking a wellhead to the main production platform western diplomats in the region say iran was responsible but tehran has blamed its gulf war enemy iraq abu al bukhoosh was producing barrels per day bpd at the time of the attack but the sources said it would resume at a maximum of half that level because of reduced staff and the fact only four of five wellheads were now operable the sources said only personnel can be housed in remaining accomodations the sources said facilities being installed to protect the field include aircraft detection equipment anti aircraft missiles housing for military personnel and helicopter landing pads the sources said abu dhabi is the largest oil producer in the united arab emirates accounting for about bpd of its total mln bpd production the sources said they also said iran was working to reopen its sassan field part of the same reservoir as abu al bukhoosh and located only a few miles away sassan was heavily damaged by an iraqi air raid only days before abu al bukhoosh was attacked reuter 
u k money market forecast revised to show surplus the bank of england said it had revised its forecast of the liquidity position in the money market today to a surplus of mln stg after it estimated a flat position earlier this morning reuter 
bank of england does not operate in money market the bank of england said it had not operated in the money market during the morning session earlier the bank revised its forecast of the liquidity position in the system today to a surplus of mln stg from its original estimate of a flat position reuter 
exchange rates almost within g levels sumita bank of japan governor satoshi sumita said that current exchange rates are almost within the levels agreed to by six major nations last month in paris asked whether a dollar yen rate of or reflected economic fundamentals he said current rates almost reflect fundamentals sumita told reporters major nations have cooperated to bring about currency stability in line with the paris agreement which stipulated that they would closely cooperate to that end he repeated the central bank will intervene if necessary adding he did not think a dollar free fall was likely but sumita said he could not say exactly what currency levels would be considered in line with underlying economic fundamentals in paris on february britain canada france japan the u s and west germany agreed to cooperate to hold currencies around their then current levels sumita said he could not find any specific reasons behind the fall of the dollar to a record low against the yen yesterday but he said the market rushed to sell dollars as it nervously reacted to statements abroad and to developments surrounding trade tensions u s treasury secretary james baker said over the weekend that the paris pact did not encompass fixed tragets for the dollar u s trade representative clayton yeutter called u s japan relations on certain key trade issues very strained the market reacted nervously because the dollar has been moving narrowly against the yen since mid january sumita said he added he does not expect the yen dollar exchange rate to remain unstable because the market is concerned about a sharp rise of the yen the bank of japan will keep a close watch on exchange rates in line with the paris accord he added reuter 
oil analyst sees papua new guinea as good prospect papua new guinea png provides the most exciting new prospect in the asia pacific region for oil production energy analyst fereidun fesharaki said here the recent successful find at iagifu is likely to put png on the list of major oil exporters by the early s he told the australian petroleum exploration association annual conference fesharaki leader of the energy program at the east west center in honolulu hawaii was speaking on the asia pacific petroleum outlook with domestic demand of around barrels per day bpd and prospects of production of over bpd by late png would become an ecuador level crude exporter fesharaki said the iagifu wells in the papuan basin have recorded the best oil flows in more than years of exploration in png the png government s geological survey in a paper distributed at the conference estimates iagifu reserves at about mln barrels png enjoys the most liberal tax regime in the region with no secondary taxes fesharaki said we expect a much larger oil search in papua new guinea and discovery of much larger volumes of oil similar in quality to light bass strait crude fesharaki said there are also large pockets of high quality condensates to be produced notably in the juha field near iagifu which is capable of producing to bpd he said but prices should be somewhat higher than the present levels to justify development of the juha field he said the png geological survey paper noted there are five large prospective but little explored sedimentary basins in png reuter 
norway offers th licence round offshore blocks norway has offered new offshore blocks to foreign and domestic applicants in the first phase of the country s eleventh concession round government officials said company shares in each of the licences proposed by the oil and energy ministry are not final the ministry has given the companies days to accept or decline the proposed shares french companies ste nationale elf aquitaine elfp pa and total cie francaise des petroles tpn pa which were expected to receive operatorships following france s agreement last autumn to purchase gas from norway s troll field were not offered operatorships in this round industry sources said three eleventh round blocks were awarded in the haltenbanken exploration tract off central norway including the smoerbukk west field where den norske stats oljeselskap a s stat ol statoil was appointed operator statoil will share the licence with subsidiaries of u s oil companies tenneco inc tgt n and texas eastern corp tet n and the italian oil company agip spa s norwegian subsidiary e i du pont de nemours dd n subsidiary conoco norway inc was named operator on haltenbanken block and will share the licence with statoil norsk hydro a s nhy ol will operate nearby block with partners statoil norsk agip a s royal dutch shell group s rd as a s norske shell and deminex unit deminex norge a s statoil has been offered the operatorship on a new block in the relatively unexplored moere south exploration area south of haltenbanken with a s norske shell texas eastern and petroleo brasileiro sa petrobras also offered stakes in the block norwegian companies landed operatorships on all six blocks opened in the barents sea area off northern norway the blocks were awarded in three licenses each covering two blocks statoil will head exploration on blocks and sharing the licence with exxon corp s xon n norwegian subsidiary esso norge a s the british petroleum co plc s bp l bp petroleum development norway ltd shell norsk hydro and saga petroleum a s sagp ol blocks and were awarded to norsk hydro the operator statoil mobil corp s mob n mobil exploration norway petrofina sa s petb br norske fina a s and bp the third barents sea licence covering blocks and went to saga petroleum a s the operator statoil atlantic richfield co s arc n arco norge a s total marine norge a s and amerada hess corp ahc n the oil ministry withheld awards on four strategic blocks included in the eleventh round s second phase the ministry is accepting applications for phase two blocks until early april and the awards will likely be announced this summer officials said reuter 
thatcher defends uk oil policy in saudi interview british prime minister margaret thatcher denied in an interview published in saudi arabia today that her government s oil policy contributed to weakness in world oil prices she said the government was determined not to intervene to influence production decisions by oil companies operating in the north sea we believe these must be a matter for the commercial judgment of the oil companies she told the arabic language daily al sharq al awsat in an interview coinciding with a visit to london by king fahd of saudi arabia thatcher said this policy had not contributed to the fall in oil prices as north sea production was now about the same as in when prices were close to dlrs a barrel british production was on a plateau and was unlikely to increase in the future she said we naturally share the concern of saudi arabia and other opec members about the harmful effects of oil market volatility for both producer and consumer countries thatcher said on our part we are careful to avoid any actions which might add to such volatility reuter 
bank of england drains money market liquidity the bank of england said it drained liquidity from the money market when it sold mln stg of treasury bills due march at rates between and pct earlier the bank estimated a surplus of around mln stg in the system today reuter 
house ways and means cmte finishes work on bill to toughen trade laws 
key u s house panel finishes major trade bill the house ways and means committee completed action on legislation to toughen u s trade laws chairman dan rostenkowski said the committee s consideration of one of the most controversial provisions a plan to force major trade surplus countries to cut their trade imbalance with the united states was deferred until the full house considers the trade bill its sponsor rep richard gephardt said gephardt a missouri democrat told reuters he was not certain the exact form his trade surplus reduction proposal would take last year the house approved his plan to force a pct surplus cutback each year for four years by countries such as japan the ways and means committess trade bill forces president reagan to retaliate against unfair trade practices that violate international trade agreements but it allows him to wave retaliatory tariffs or quotas if the action would hurt the u s economy the trade bill gives u s trade representative clayton yeutter more authority in trade negotiations and in decisions to grant domestic industries import relief it also gives him authority to decide whether foreign trade practices are unfair and violate u s trading rights these powers are currently held by president reagan the administration has strongly objected to this transfer of authority from reagan to yeutter the bill also extends u s authority to negotiate multilateral trade agreements the bill will be wrapped into other trade legislation and voted on in the house in april reuter 
baldrige says japan must open its markets commerce secretary malcolm baldrige said the united states will not stand idly by and let japan dominate the world electronics market baldrige told the senate finance committee the united states would insist japan open its markets to u s products as the u s market is open to japanese products asked after his testimony if this meant the united states would close its markets to japan if they did not open theirs baldrige said i m not prepared to say that but it certainly would be one of the alternatives studied baldrige said in his testimony japan had a closed supercomputer market and a restricted telecommunications market i can only conclude that the common objective of the japanese government and industry is to dominate the world electronics market given the importance of this market to u s industry in general and our defense base in particular we cannot stand by idly he said he said it was these concerns about national security which led him to express reservations over the proposed acquisition of fairchild semiconductor by fujitsu of japan reuter 
canada sets oil industry aid package canada s federal government will provide a mln dlr oil industry aid package that includes cash incentives designed to cover one third of a company s oil and gas exploration and development costs energy minister marcel masse announced the aid program will inject about mln dlrs a year into the oil and gas industry and could lead to more than one billion dlrs in new investment masse told a news conference the program will affect drilling done anywhere in canada on or after april masse told reporters that the government s oil industry aid package is aimed at small and medium sized companies the aid package called the canadian exploration and development incentive program will restrict the total payments that any individual company can claim to mln dlrs a year masse said the program will probably generate new employment equivalent to people working for a year he said oil industry aid is needed because exploration and development spending dropped by at least pct since world oil prices fell during the first half of energy minister masse said the federal government decided to provide cash incentives so a large number of non tax paying companies mainly small canadian firms will receive the full value of the incentive such companies would not immediately benefit from tax benefits he said the federal government also wanted to deliver an aid program outside the tax system finance minister michael wilson is now reviewing canada s tax system and plans to announce tax reform proposals later this spring an important feature of the aid program is a decision to let companies issue flow through shares allowing investors to benefit from the subsidy rather than restricting benefits to only participating companies he said allowing flow through shares under the program will make it easier for companies to attract investors in exploration and development masse said he told reporters his department is still considering whether to allow partnerships and other entities to qualify for the subsidy reuter 
treasury s baker says exchange rate changes will reduce trade deficit this year 
treasury s baker outlines trade bill criticisms treasury secretary james baker said that some of the trade bills proposed by congress conflict significantly with certain basic principles the reagan administration considers critical baker told a senate committee that the administration would resist such measures as a general import surcharge sector specific protection such as import quotas for individual products mandatory retaliation and limits on presidential discretion in negotiating more open markets abroad and other trade steps reuter 
ecuador negotiates with nigeria for lending oil earthquake stricken ecuador is negotiating with nigeria to have the african country lend it barrels per day bpd of crude for export deputy energy minister fernando santos alvite told reuters he said ecuador was negotiating a shipments schedule and the terms of repaying the loan ecuador has suspended crude exports for about five months until it repairs a pipeline ruputured by a march five tremor santos alvite added ecuador is finalizing details for a program under which venezuela would temporarily lend the country bpd for export reuter 
u s senate trade leader concerned about canada the chairman of the u s senate committee with jurisdiction over trade said he was concerned about a resolution on bilateral trade negotiations adopted by the canadian house of commons last week the resolution supports negotiation of a bilateral trading agreement with the united states while protecting canadian political sovereignty social programs agricultural marketing systems the auto industry and canada s cultural identity senate finance committee chairman lloyd bentsen said the resolution may jeopardize the viability of the proposed free trade agreement between the two countries which are each other s largest trading partners we need a truly free trade agreement which means both countries have to work toward a deal that is mutually beneficial and comprehensive a large agreement the texas democrat said in a statement i do not question canada s right to protect its political sovereignty or cultural identity however if these phrases mean the government of canada means to take important economic issues off the table in these negotiations i am deeply concerned he added bentsen said canada restricts trade different ways while the united states uses only six trade restriction methods he said if canada proposes an agreement where both countries get rid of six methods of trade restriction it would not be fair and might not win senate approval i am deeply concerned that when the president visits prime minister brian mulroney next month he will be presented with this kind of argument and i hope he makes it clear as i did when i was in canada that only a mutually beneficial agreement will be successful bentsen said reagan and mulroney are scheduled to meet april in ottawa bentsen urged mulroney to withdraw a proposal that would ban imports of independently produced films into canada by non canadians which the senator called a protectionist measure reuter 
baker says u s willing to cooperate to stabilize exchange rates 
baker says u s wants to stabilize exchange rates treasury secretary james baker said the united states and other nations were willing to cooperate to stabilize foreign exchange rates at the levels that existed at the time of an international agreement last month our position with respect to the dollar goes back to the paris agreement that the currencies were within ranges broadly consistent with underlying economic conditions baker told a senate committee baker continued we said further that we and others are willing to cooperate closely to foster stability in exchange rates around those levels he referred to a february agreement by six leading industrial nations to cooperate on monetary matters baker refused to answer a question whether japan and germany had done enough to stimulate their domestic economies for the united states to support the dollar i will not comment because the foreign exchange market reads more or less than is intended in my statements baker said baker said that the other signatories recognized that they must carry their share of the load of correcting external imbalances that have hindered the world s economy he cited news reports that germany would increase a proposed tax cut for by about five billion marks to stimulate domestic growth japan also agreed to consider stimulative measures after the japanese budget was made final baker said those nations were stimulating their economies in a manner consistent with gains against inflation reuter 
baldrige sees u s trade deficit starting to decline in feb or march data 
baldrige sees u s trade gap dropping soon commerce secretary malcolm baldrige said the u s trade deficit should start to decline soon possibly in the figures for february or march we could see the trade deficit start down in february or march baldrige said in an appearance before the senate governmental affairs committee he predicted the trade deficit which was billion dlrs in would decline by to billion dlrs in and in baldrige said he was making his prediction without having seen the february trade figures but he said that the volume of imports has dropped beginning with the fourth quarter of and will continue to drop in this quarter the eventual turnaround in the monthly trade figures will reflect the impact of the decline in the dollar baldrige said ealier treasury secretary james baker told the committee that the trade deficit had levelled off but baldrige said he was more optimistic adding i think we turned the corner in february reuter 
u s chipmakers urge sanctions against japan the semiconductor industry association urged the u s government to impose trade sanctions against japan for violating the u s japan semiconductor trade agreement in a letter to treasury secretary james baker the group said sanctions should be imposed against japanese chipmakers as of april and should continue until the united states is satisfied that there is full compliance with the agreement the group said action by japan to cut back on semiconductor exports is not what is required america s interests require that agreements be honored and that u s industries not bear the burden for the persistent unwillingness or inability of the government of japan to deliver on its commitments the trade group said the white house economic policy council is expected to discuss possible sanctions against japan at a meeting scheduled for thursday the trade group said japan has not lived up to the terms of the agreement last year which was aimed at ending japanese dumping of semiconductors and at opening japanese markets to foreign based manufacturers reuter 
u s chipmakers urge sanctions against japan the semiconductor industry association urged the u s government to impose trade sanctions against japan for violating the u s japan semiconductor trade agreement in a letter to treasury secretary james baker the group said sanctions should be imposed against japanese chipmakers as of april and continue until the u s is satisfied there is full compliance with the agreement the group said action by japan to cut back on semiconductor exports is not what is required america s interests require that agreements be honored and that u s industries not bear the burden for the persistent unwillingness or inability of the government of japan to deliver on its commitments the trade group said the white house economic policy council is expected to discuss possible sanctions against japan at a meeting scheduled for thursday the trade group said japan has not lived up to the terms of the agreement last year which was aimed at ending japanese dumping of semiconductors and at opening japanese markets to foreign based manufacturers reuter 
latin oil producers to meet in caracas five regional oil producing nations will gather in caracas tommorrow for a two day meeting expected to center on ways to combat proposals for a u s tax on imported petroleum the venezuela s ministry of energy and mines said oil ministers from mexico trinidad and tobago ecuador and venezuela will be on hand for the fifth meeting of the informal group of latin american and caribbean petroleum exporters formed in it said colombia will also attend for the first time as an observer nation the ministry said energy and mines minister arturo hernandez grisanti said the conference has no set agenda but one entire session friday will be devoted to proposals for a tax on imported oil two of the group s members venezuela and mexico are second and third largest foreign suppliers of oil to the united states respectively following canada venezuela concerned about the effect such a tax would have on its exports undertook a diplomatic push to coordinate strategy against such measures in february canadian energy minister marcel masse was invited to caracas for talks with hernandez on proposals for an oil import tax reuter 
exchange rate bill clears u s house panel the house banking committee adopted legislation to direct the u s treasury to begin negotiations aimed at seeking regular adjustment of exchange rates by countries such as taiwan and south korea whose currencies are pegged to the value of the u s dollar the measure was adopted as part of a wide ranging trade bill that will be considered by the full house in april before it moves onto the senate the bill s many provisions also set as a priority for the u s the negotiation of stable exchange rates and urge government intervention as necessary to offset fluctuations reuter 
treasury s baker says he stands by paris pact to foster stable currencies 
baker says he stands by paris currency agreement treasury secretary james baker said he stood by the paris agreement among leading industrial nations to foster exchange rate stability around current levels i would refer you to the paris agreement which was a recognition the currencies were within ranges broadly consistent with economic fundamentals baker told the cable news network in an interview we were quite satisfied with the agreement in paris otherwise we would not have been a party too it he said baker also noted the nations agreed in the accord to co operate to foster greater exchange rate stability around those levels he refused to comment directly on the current yen dollar rate but said flatly that foreign exchange markets recently tended to draw unwarranted inferences from what i say baker was quoted on british television over the weekend as saying he has no target for the u s currency a statement that triggered this week s renewed decline of the dollar i think the paris agreement represents evidence that international economic policy co ordination is alive and well baker said the treasury secretary stressed however it was very important for the main surplus countries to grow as fast as they could consistent with low inflation to resolve trade imbalances he added that federal reserve board chairman paul volcker has also been very outspoken in suggesting main trading partners grow as fast as they can baker noted that the j curve the delayed beneficial effect of a weakening of a currency on that country s trade balance takes to months to work its way through to the trade deficit and it is now months since the plaza agreement to lower the dollar s value he also said improvements in the trade deficit should come from other sources besides the exchange rate and pointed out the administration s package to improve u s competitiveness was now before congress reuter 
baker sees to billion dlr drop in trade gap treasury secretary james baker said he expected the u s trade deficit to fall by billion to billion dlrs in commenting on the deficit during an interview on cable news network baker said i think you re going to see a to billion dlr reduction this year the deficit was billion dlrs in baker noted that the benefits of a weaker currency take to months to affect the trade balance and said it is now months since the plaza agreement to lower the dollar s value reuter 
sumita says major nations will continue to cooperate to stabilize currencies 
ec links agricultural trade talks to other reform the european community ec considers talks on agricultural trade reform to be inseperable from talks on other trade reform in the present gatt round willy de clercq external relations commissioner of the ec said he told reporters here the ec would not bow to pressure to reach an early seperate agreement on agricultural trade he said the ec wanted to stick to the four year schedule agreed by members of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt in punta del este uruguay last year that included agricultural trade liberalisation for the first time in the lengthy program to re negotiate the gatt other trade issues being discussed in the current gatt round include reform of trade in merchandise and services de clercq is on his way to china after attending a two day conference for gatt trade ministers held in new zealand several of those ministers criticised the ec for what they saw as restrictive agricultural trade practices and called for urgent reforms u s trade representative clayton yeutter also said it was important agreement on agricultural trade reform was reached as early as possible but de clercq said the gatt program had been reached after long and hard negotiations and the ec did not want changes we just want to stick to the agreement which was reached and that was very clear that the new round would be one undertaking it is a global negotiation with no two tracks no fast track no slow track it has just one track the track and that s all de clercq said if you start selecting priorities your priority is not my priority we say that agriculture is urgent but it s not the only urgent thing he said he said the punte del este agreement had taken eight months to prepare and eight days of negotiations reuter 
trade surplus cut would benefit japan sumita bank of japan governor satoshi sumita said it is in japan s national interest to make greater efforts to reduce its trade surplus he told business executives the most important issues for the world economy are the correction of international trade imbalances and a solution to the world debt problem to this end japan and the u s must make medium and long term efforts to alter economic structures which have expanded the trade gap between the two nations world economic growth and therefore an expansion of debtor countries export markets are needed to solve the debt issue he added reuter 
miyazawa says major nations acting on paris accord finance minister kiichi miyazawa said major nations are taking action to stabilise exchange rates in line with their agreement in paris last month government sources said miyazawa told an upper house session the six nations britain canada france japan the u s and west germany are abiding by the paris accord the six agreed to cooperate to stabilise exchange rates at around current levels miyazawa said he wishes to attend a meeting of seven major nations g expected just before the imf world bank interim committee meeting in washington starting on april the sources quoted miyazawa as saying japan is trying to prevent a further rise of the yen japan is taking the matter seriously he added asked if the six nations had agreed to stabilise the dollar at about yen the rate prevailing at the time of the paris talks miyazawa declined to give specific figures and said any mention of specific rates would create an unexpected situation reuter 
bank of france launches money market intervention tender official 
u k money market liquidity position expected flat the bank of england said it has forecast a flat position in the money market today among the main factors maturing assistance and take up of treasury bills will drain mln stg and a rise in note circulation mln stg but the outflow will be offset by mln stg exchequer transactions and bankers balances above target mln reuter 
german february trade surplus billion marks jan surplus billion official 
no pessimism for german exporters ministry firms need not be pessimistic about export prospects even though foreign markets have become more difficult because of the mark s strength the economics ministry said the ministry s parliamentary state secretary ludolf georg von wartenberg told a business conference german exports could start rising again in real terms during reversing the lower export trend which emerged in mid but even if the turnaround did not occur there would be no need to worry about the economy as long as the weakness of exports did not affect currently good domestic demand von wartenberg said consumer demand remained quite good but noted there had been a cooling in the investment climate this is certainly a reason for heightened watchfulness but not for stimulative steps he said the best way for bonn to help its exporters is to work actively to promote free world trade he added von wartenberg said the economy still had good export opportunities price alone was not the only factor in international competitiveness he said adding german firms have a reputation for high quality standards prompt delivery times and good service von wartenberg said the government was in a difficult position on its trade figures it faced international pressure to reduce its trade surplus but west germans were worried about the effect of the mark s strength on the country s exporters reports about the trade surplus especially overseas tended to concentrate on nominal trade figures which rose to a record billion marks in he said but this rise was due entirely to the lower value of imports caused by the decline of both the dollar and oil prices german exports have in fact been falling in real terms for sometime he said reuter 
monetary authorities said to lose credibility the monetary authorities of the major industrialised countries lost their credibility this week as the dollar was sold off despite pleas from ministers and widespread central bank intervention dealers said the dollar s fall below yen which follows last month s paris currency stabilisation agreement by the u s japan west germany britain france and canada is a dramatic reversal of the success of the group of five g new york plaza meeting to weaken the dollar they said the g and the market agreed in that the dollar was overvalued but this time the market and the authorities are on different sides dealers said apparent confusion in the ranks of the g nations has encouraged the market to challenge the authorities despite concerted intervention by the central banks of the united states japan britain and west germany they said pleas by japanese finance minister kiichi miyazawa for action to stabilise the dollar were matched over the weekend by comments by u s treasury secretary james baker that there was no target zone for the dollar the dollar was sold anyway yesterday s comment by baker that he stood by the paris accord did nothing to reverse sentiment dealers said the intervention backed by remarks by fed chairman paul volcker and japanese central bank governor satoshi sumita which a few months ago would have brought the dollar fall to a halt has done little but slow the rate of its decline they noted the situation has again raised the question of whether intervention can succeed against the trend in today s huge currency markets dealers said the market s cool response to intervention reflected a basic oversupply of dollars this means that the current dollar selling is not of a sheer speculative nature but backed by real demand said koichi miyazaki deputy general manager at sanwa bank dealers said the dollar will remain weak despite the intervention and it is only a matter of time before some operators try to push it below yen the dollar closed in tokyo today at against new york s its record low was in tokyo last tuesday dealers said the dollar will gain only temporary support to rise above yen toward early april when the group of seven industrial nations meets to discuss currencies again the market expects the seven nations the paris six plus italy to try to agree on another way to stabilise currencies apart from intervention a chief dealer at a u s bank said dealers said they were unsure what other methods could be used and they are sceptical anyway about how long the paris accord nations particulary the u s will remain willing to prevent a further dollar fall given the continuing high u s trade deficit especially with japan further pressure from a protectionist u s congress for a lower dollar is also limiting washington s options they said the market now thinks the central bank action is to slow the dollar fall not to push it back over yen said tadahiko nashimoto manager at long term credit bank of japan another bearish factor for the dollar is expected large forward dollar sales from april to june for export bills falling due for japanese exporters from april to september the exporters had delayed in expectation of a further yen depreciation dealers said yesterday s request to trading houses by the ministry of international trade and industry to restrict dollar sales looks ineffective in light of this real demand they said the market is also anticipating active institutional dollar sales to hedge currency risks on bond holdings from the new business year starting april dealers said the market seems to have established a new dollar trading range between and yen one dealer said the dollar traded between and yen after the paris accord on february and yen was then considered the low end for the dollar against the yen he said some dealers now believe that if the dollar falls below yen it will pick up renewed downward momentum and slide to reuter 
uk feb trade deficit mln stg vs deficit mln in jan official 
trade surplus cut would benefit japan sumita bank of japan governor satoshi sumita said it is in japan s national interest to make greater efforts to reduce its trade surplus he told business executives the most important issues for the world economy are the correction of international trade imbalances and a solution to the world debt problem to this end japan and the u s must make medium and long term efforts to alter economic structures which have expanded the trade gap between the two nations world economic growth and therefore an expansion of debtor countries export markets are needed to solve the debt issue he added reuter 
u k money market forecast revised to deficit the bank of england said it revised its estimate of today s money market shortfall to around mln stg from a flat position reuter 
currency exchange loss pushes malaysia s debt up an exchange loss of billion ringgit in pushed malaysia s outstanding external debt up to billion ringgit from s billion the central bank said in its annual report bank negara said although malaysia s net borrowing dropped in its external debt rose due to the pct appreciation of the basket of currencies against which the ringgit is pegged the basket comprises principally the u s dollar yen mark swiss franc french franc sterling guilder canadian and singapore dollars it added bank negara said growth in external debt which declined progressively from a peak of pct in to pct in rose by pct in malaysia s debt serving ratio of pct of its exports in is within the prudency limit of pct bank negara governor jaafar hussein told reporters reuter 
u s treasury s baker opposes tax increase u s treasury secretary james baker said that he opposes a federal tax increase to help reduce the budget deficit and favors spending cuts instead i don t think it s a tax increase is a very good idea and i m quite confident that president reagan doesn t think it s a very good idea baker said in an interview on cable news network s moneyline television program he said u s taxpayers are taxed at a rate of pct of gnp which is traditionally where it has been but the federal government is spending at a rate of pct of gnp baker said spending cuts are clearly the best way to cut budget deficits baker said he opposed a stock transactions tax proposed by house speaker jim wright d tex or other special taxes the stock transfer tax would be a particularly unfortunate approach to take the treasury secretary said he said the united states has some of the most efficient capital markets in the world and new taxes would impair efficiency on the international front baker said banks must do more lending to developing countries he was questioned about this after the standard and poor s corp downgrading today of the debt of six major money center bank holding companies largely because of their heavy developing nation loan exposure baker said that developing countries must adopt free market economic policies such as in the united states he said capital flows will be required to support the needed reforms in the economic systems of those countries the money must come either through equity or debt and baker said that developing nations investment regimes do not support enough equity investment so you ve got to have some debt there commenting on the u s trade deficit baker said i think you re going to see a to billion dlr reduction this year reuter 
treasury s baker says he stands by paris pact treasury secretary james baker said he stood by the paris agreement among leading industrial nations to foster exchange rate stability around current levels i would refer you to the paris agreement which was a recognition the currencies were within ranges broadly consistent with economic fundamentals baker told the cable news network in an interview we were quite satisfied with the agreement in paris otherwise we would not have been a party too it he said baker also noted the nations agreed in the accord to co operate to foster greater exchange rate stability around those levels he refused to comment directly on the current yen dollar rate but said flatly that foreign exchange markets recently tended to draw unwarranted inferences from what i say baker was quoted on british television over the weekend as saying he has no target for the u s currency a statement that triggered this week s renewed decline of the dollar i think the paris agreement represents evidence that international economic policy co ordination is alive and well baker said the treasury secretary stressed however it was very important for the main surplus countries to grow as fast as they could consistent with low inflation to resolve trade imbalances he added that federal reserve board chairman paul volcker has also been very outspoken in suggesting main trading partners grow as fast as they can reuter 
british politicians urge japan trade sanctions one hundred members of britain s ruling conservative party have signed a motion calling for trade sanctions against japan to force tokyo to open its domestic market to british goods the government announced last week that japan had a billion dlr trade surplus with britain in the department of trade and industry said the government was drawing up contingency plans to force japan into opening up its domestic markets but a spokesman said such moves were very much a last resort ideas being considered included blocking japanese companies from trading in britain and revoking licenses of japanese operations in the london financial district reuter 
u s treasury s mulford reaffirms g pact to foster currency stability around current levels 
treasury s mulford says g has no currency target zones ranges 
bank of france leaves money market intervention rate unchanged at pct official 
u k money market gets mln stg late help the bank of england said it provided about mln stg in late help to the money market bringing the total assistance today to mln stg this compares with the bank s revised estimate of a mln stg money market shortfall reuter 
mulford says g wants stability treasury assistant secretary david mulford said the paris agreement among leading industrial nations is intended to produce reasonable stability in exchange markets over the next few months he told a senate banking subcommittee the group of five nations and canada agreed in paris to see if there can t be a period of reasonable stability instead of volatility to give time for the committments in paris to take place asked by sen phil gramm r tex whether u s intervention was not in fact overvaluing the dollar mulford replied that the administration judged that after economic adjustments current exchange rates reflect underlying economic fundamentals in particular the stability sought by the nations would allow west germany and japan to stimulate their economies domestically and the u s to cut its budget deficit mulford said in his testimony he stressed that a further sharp fall in the dollar would hurt the ability of germany and japan to boost growth mulford noted that half of west germany s economy was affected by international developments he also said increased japanese domestic growth would result in more u s exports to japan and would not necessarily lead to greater japanese capital flows to the u s as gramm asserted if japan reformed its domestic capital market commenting on the paris agreement mulford said i think exchange rates ought to be stabilized so germany s and japan s efforts can be carried out mulford rejected gramm s argument that faster domestic growth in germany and japan would result in an even lower dollar mulford said the administration wanted to achieve a pattern of higher growth overseas as a way of improving the u s trade deficit otherwise he said the trade deficit would be resolved either through a much lower dollar or a u s recession both alternatives he termed unacceptable and undesirable reuter 
mulford disappointed in newly industrialized nics efforts to strengthen currencies 
german wage round said to limit monetary options the bundesbank s options for west germany monetary policy are limited for the foreseeable future by the delicate stage of wage negotiations between unions and employers economists and money market dealers said call money fell in quite active trading today dropping to pct from pct yesterday and below the pct treasury bill rate as a difficult month end approached but dealers and economists said the bundesbank was unlikely to encourage lower rates in the foreseeable future largely for fear of upsetting the current wage round one money market dealer for a major foreign bank said i don t think the bundesbank wants rates to go up whatever happens but it also does not want them to fall above all it wants to wait to see how the unions wage round goes in west germany unions and employers prepare the ground for triennial wage negotiations based on detailed assessments of growth and inflation economists said ute geipel economist with citibank ag said if the bundesbank became more accommodating in monetary policy raising fears in some quarters of a return in inflation in the medium term unions would be obliged to curtail wage demands as a result the bundesbank was concerned to make no move that would interfere in the negotiating process geipel said in the current round the country s most powerful union the ig metall representing metalworkers and engineers is demanding a shortening of the working week to hours from the present and an accompanying five pct increase in wages the engineering employers association gesamtmetall is offering to bring in a hour week from july and give a two stage wage increase a pct rise from april this year and another pct from july the agreement forged by ig metall europe s largest union with mln members and the employers would set the benchmark for settlements in other industries such as the public sector banks and federal post office negotiations began in december and unions are hopeful they may conclude by early april ahead of the traditional holiday period in june though many economists said the unions current warning strikes and rhetoric were part of the negotiating strategy and would not lead to a repeat of s damaging seven week strikes others said unions would not compromise greatly on their positions and there could still be conflict this could extend the length of time in which the bundesbank would keep its activity low key economists said the money market head said the unions humiliation by the protracted financial problems of the neue heimat cooperative housing venture would contribute to union obstinacy the unions haven t forgotten that and they will put this squarely onto the account in the negotiations he said in addition the newly elected chairman of the ig metall union franz steinkuehler was more radical and determined than his predecessor hans meyer and may be set for a longer battle to achieve the best possible settlement for his membership more than engineering workers at firms mainly in south germany held warning strikes lasting up to two hours yesterday firms hit included zahnradfabrik passau gmbh and aerospace group messerschmitt boelkow blohm gmbh today employees from companies came out in warning strikes a statement from ig metall said money market dealers said that overnight call money rates would rise in the near future in any case and did not depend on a politically inhibited bundesbank about eight billion marks were coming into the market tomorrow from salary payments by the federal government as a result some banks fell back on the bundesbank s offer to mop up liquidity via the sale of three day treasury bills anticipating still lower rates before the month end but a pension payment date by banks on behalf of customers was due on monday other dealers noted if banks were short of liquidity until the bills matured on tuesday rates could soar perhaps to the pct lombard ceiling banks were well stocked up with funds having an average billion marks in bundesbank minimum reserves in the first days of march well above the billion requirement reuter 
british french ministers discuss public spending french finance minister edouard balladur discussed the need to control public spending in talks here today with british chancellor of the exchequer nigel lawson a treasury spokesman said the spokesman said the ministers reviewed their economies and public spending domestic and european community wide he declined to comment on whether the subject of concerted action to shore up the dollar had arisen the u s currency dipped sharply earlier this week after a month of relative stability after an agreement by six major industrialised nations in paris on february to stabilise their currencies reuter 
bp bp offer raises expectations for oil values british petroleum plc s plan to pay billion dlrs for less than half of standard oil co has signalled higher values in the u s oil patch analysts said i think that bp s bid is a very strong affirmation and clear signal that they have confidence in the u s and they think the barrel of oil in the ground is going to go higher said sanford margoshes of shearson lehman brothers inc bp earlier today said its u s unit planned to tender at dlrs per share for the pct of standard it does not already own it s a billion dlr price that shows opec has won the war and oil prices are not going to crack said prescott ball and turben analyst bruce lazier behind that is a huge implication for the rest of the energy issues out there in the stock market particularly those that are acquisition targets lazier said one of those mentioned by lazier was usx corp an energy steel concern which had been courted by investor carl icahn and drew the attention of australian robert holmes a court last year rumors continue to swirl around its stock margoshes said he does not foresee major u s oil firms falling into takeover situations for several years with the exception of possibly amerada hess corp ahc he said most of the majors found partners in the last round of matchmaking which ended two years ago and others restructured to the point that they have become unattractive u s oil stocks rallied in response to the offer exxon corp xon rose to chevron corp chv jumped to and texaco tx climbed to unocal corp ucl rose while occidental petroleum corp oxy climbed to amoco corp an rose to standard oil s stock was up in heavy trading to earlier in the session it had been at a high of wall street has speculated british petroleum may boost its offer by several dlrs per share but the company maintained it would not raise the dlr bid british petroleum stock rose to analysts said the fact british petroleum made such a bid in the first place indicates that the british oil giant has changed its outlook for the oil industry analysts said last year british petroleum held one of the more bearish positions on oil prices they said the real price of oil would stay at dlrs a barrel for several years and i think they beat a hasty retreat from that point of view margoshes said they are more appropriately today looking more optimistically i believe they are looking at dlrs long term also in their heart of hearts they believe that will be exceeded margoshes said the u s benchmark crude west texas intermediate was trading today around dlrs per barrel analysts said british petroleum might have been able to buy up the rest of standard oil for about dlrs per share when oil prices were falling last year they said standard oil s brightest asset is its slightly more than pct ownership of the alaskan prudhoe bay oil field analysts also said the company has other interests in the alaskan north slope analysts said the standard investment is extremely attractive to bp because the u s is the largest oil market and has hard to replace reserves i think it just fits in with their long range plans to increase their position in the u s market dean witter analyst eugene nowak said analysts said it also raises bp s visibility ahead of the british government s announced disposal of pct of bp stock the u k government said it would dispose of the holding sometime in the year beginning april one after acquiring all of standard most of bp s reserves would be in the u s but only about six pct of its stock is held in the u s the only way they can sell all that stock is to move it into the united states no other market can handle all that stock said l f rothschild analyst rosario ilacqua in standard oil had net losses of mln dlrs on revenues of billion dlrs compared to a profit the year earlier of mln dlrs on revenues of billion dlrs reuter 
volcker reaffirms g negotiating process washington march federal reserve board chairman paul volcker urged congress to allow the government to continue its flexible negotiations on exchange rates through procedures such as the recent paris meeting of industrialized countries in a letter to house banking committee chairman fernand st germain volcker said he opposed legislation to formalize international negotiations on exchange rates and to require treasury secretary james baker to disclose plans for currency intervention volcker s letter was written march in advance of the committee s march approval of the proposed legislation the fundamental policy objectives of the united states can best be implemented in a more flexible framework such as through the recent meeting in paris of finance ministers and central bank governors volcker said he recommended congress not lock the administration into formal procedures for international exchange rate negotiations to achieve specific exchange rate goals the achievement of a sustainable pattern of u s international transactions and more stability in exchange rates are ones with which i remain sympathetic he said the banking committee s bill directs the administration to to start negotiations to reach a competitive exchange rate for the u s dollar runs the risk of build up potentially destabilizing market expectations volcker said a requirement that baker disclose his intervention policy could reduce the usefulness of intervention as a tool to deal with exchange rate volatility volcker added baker has also opposed the legislation which will be wrapped into a major trade bill for consideration in the house in late april the senate will consider its version of the trade bill in may reuter 
former herstatt dealer can be sued court rules the former chief currency dealer of herstatt bank which collapsed in on foreign exchange speculation in west germany s biggest banking crash can stand trial for damages a court ruled the court overturned a claim by danny dattel that a case for damages should not be allowed after such a long interval herstatt creditors are seeking mln marks from dattel whom they accuse of causing losses at the bank of over mln marks by manipulating forward foreign exchange contracts the crash of the private herstatt bank with losses of over one billion marks stunned west germany s business community and led to a tightening of banking regulations the losses were even greater than the mln marks announced recently by volkswagen as a result of fraud in currency transactions ivan herstatt managing director of the bank when it collapsed was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in but appealed six other people associated with the bank were jailed in but dattel was freed from prosecution after he produced medical evidence of paranoia caused by nazi persecution during his childhood which might have led him to take his own life reuter 
next few months crucial for oil hernandez energy and mines minister arturo hernandez grisanti today told a meeting of regional oil exporters the next few months will be critical to efforts to achieve price recovery and stabilize the market hernandez said while opec and non opec nations have already made some strides in their efforts to strengthen the market the danger of a reversal is always present march and the next two or three months will be a really critical period hernandez said he said we will be able to define a movement either towards market stability and price recovery or depending on the market a reversal earlier this week hernandez said venezuela s oil price has averaged just above dlrs a barrel for the year to date if opec achieves its stated goal of an dlrs a barrel average price he said venezuela s should move up to dlrs hernandez spoke today at the opening of the fifth ministerial meeting of the informal group of latin american and caribbean oil exporters formed in ministers from member states ecuador mexico trinidad tobago and venezuela are attending the two day conference while colombia is present for the first time as an observer hernandez defined the meeting as an informal exchange of ideas about the oil market however the members will also discuss ways to combat proposals for a tax on imported oil currently before the u s congress following the opening session the group of ministers met with president jaime lusinchi at miraflores the presidential palace the delegations to the conference are headed by hernandez of venezuela energy minister javier espinosa of ecuador energy minister kelvin ramnath of trinidad tobago jose luis alcudiai assistant energy secretary of mexico and energy minister guilermno perry rubio of colombia reuter 
brazil oil output fell in february usage up brazilian crude oil and liquefied natural gas production fell to an average barrels per day in february from in the same month the state oil company petrobras said the drop was due to operating problems in the campos basin the country s main producing area where output was down to bpd from a petrobras statement said consumption of oil derivatives totalled mln bpd in february pct up on february last year but down from the record mln bpd used in october last year use of alcohol fuel in february was bpd pct above february reuter 
white house unit decides on semiconductors the white house economic policy council made a recommendation to president reagan whether to retaliate against japan for alleged unfair practices in semiconductor trade u s officials said they would not disclose the council s recommendation but the officials said earlier it was likely the council would call for retaliation and urge that curbs be imposed on japanese exports to the united states the officials said it might be several days before reagan would act and his moves made public the senate last week unanimously called on reagan to impose penalities on japanese exports retaliation was also called for by the semiconductor industry and its chief trade union both hard hit by japanese semiconductor trade in a pact last summer japan summer agreed to stop dumping its semiconductors at less than cost in the united states and other nations and to open its own market to the u s products in return the united states agreed to hold up imposing anti dumping duties on japanese semiconductor shipments u s officials say that while japan has stopped dumping semiconductors on the american market they have continued to dump them in third countries and that the japanese market has remained all but closed to the u s semiconductors semiconductors on the american market they have continued to dump them in third countries and that the japanese market has remained all but closed to the u s semiconductors reuter 
gatt warns u s on federal budget protectionism the united states emphasis on its foreign trade deficit is misplaced and the country s real problem lies in its large federal budget deficit the general agreeement on tariffs and trade gatt said by stressing its record trade deficit of billion dlrs last year the u s was fuelling protectionist pressure which threatens the world trading system it said in an annual report the fundamental problem the size of the u s federal budget deficit could be remedied only by cutting government spending or encouraging personal savings to finance the debt it said gatt also predicted world trade would grow by only pct in a full percentage point lower than in each of the previous two years gatt experts urged washington to resist protectionism and instead seek macroeconomic changes to reduce the current account payments deficit higher private savings lower investment and a smaller federal budget deficit raising u s trade barriers would result in little or no reduction in the current account deficit it would however increase inflation and reduce world trade it said the basic cause some combination of insufficient domestic savings and an excessive budget deficit would remain the report said gatt economists said trade expansion would slow this year because of slower growth forecasts in japan and some west european nations as they adjust production and workforces to a low dollar risk of higher u s inflation concerns over third world debt management and looming protectionism the report also said imbalances in the current accounts of japan west germany and the u s had increased in the most likely explanation was that exchange rate changes were not backed by changes in macroeconomic policies it added thus the prediction that these imbalances would be reduced as a result of the major realignment of exchange rates was not borne out last year the report said gatt warned there was a risk of a sizeable increase in the u s inflation rate under the combined impact of a rapidly expanding money supply and low dollar such a development could worsen the business climate by increasing uncertainty and pushing up interest rates which in turn would adversely affect world trade but the report noted a surprising rise in imports to the united states despite the dollar s depreciation which makes foreign products more expensive it suggested that resources idle in the u s both human and in underutilised factories were not geared to produce the goods and services sought from abroad world trade in manufactures grew by only three pct in about half of the rate of the previous year trade in agricultural goods expanded by just one pct continuing a stagnant pattern in that sector this decade gatt said developing countries exports declined significantly while their imports increased moderately although full statistics are not available yet gatt said the combined export earnings of major indebted nations were sharply lower and only five of them chile colombia philippines south korea and thailand had higher exports reuter 
white house panel said urging japan retaliation the white house economic policy council decided to recommend trade sanctions against japan for violations of the u s japanese semiconductor agreement industry sources said they would give no details noting that the white house had not commented on the decision the administration has been under pressure to retaliate there was no immediate announcement on the council s decision but u s officials said it was likely the senior policy group s move on curbs reflected growing american frustration over alleged unfair japanese trade practices u s officials said president reagan would probably act on the recommendations in a day or so after consulting with aides on the foreign policy implications of retaliation the officials said reagan might delay retaliation for a last try to persuade japan to abide by the agreement reached last july governing trade in semiconductors under a pact reached last july japan was to stop dumping semiconductors in world markets and to open its own market to u s made semiconductors in return the u s agreed to hold up imposing anti dumping duties on japanese semiconductor shipments the united states said that dumping has stopped in the u s market but has continued in third countries and that the japanese market remains closed the pressure on reagan to retaliate included a unanimous call by the senate last week to impose penalties on japanese high technology products containing semiconductors a call for retaliation also came from the semiconductor industry and from its chief trade union u s officials said the most likely move against japan would involve duties on semiconductor based goods such as televisions video cassette recorders and computers reuter 
nakasone to visit washington in late april prime minister yasuhiro nakasone will make an official week long visit to the united states from april and hold talks in washington with president reagan chief cabinet secretary masaharu gotoda told reporters government sources said nakasone would try to resolve growing bilateral trade friction and discuss the june venice summit of western industrial democracies foreign minister tadashi kuranari will accompany nakasone ministry officials said u s industry sources in washington said the white house economic policy council was recommending trade sanctions against japan for violating the two countries agreement on semiconductor trade under the pact japan pledged to stop dumping microchips in the u s and asia and open its domestic market to u s semiconductors reuter 
u k money market deficit forecast at mln stg the bank of england said it forecast a shortage of around mln stg in the money market today among the main factors affecting liquidity bills maturing in official hands will drain some mln stg while a rise in note circulation and bankers balances below target will take out around mln stg and mln stg respectively partly offsetting these outflows exchequer transactions will add some mln stg to the system today reuter 
world bank chief urges more japanese investment world bank president barber conable called on japan to boost investment in developing nations for its own sake as well as that of the world economy japan has the means to make a major contribution to development in the third world he told about japanese businessmen and academics i would be pleased with additional support with pct of the world s total banking assets japan could do more to help assist indebted third world countries develop roads bridges and other infrastructure he said conable said additional commercial bank investment would also be to japan s advantage it would profit from rechannelling its huge trade surplus into third world economies notably those in south america china and india that are likely to expand faster than those in the developed world he said japan is now the second largest shareholder in the bank s concessionary lending affiliate the international development association ida it has also agreed recently to expand its contribution to another affiliate the international bank for reconstruction and development ibrd conable noted conable said the world bank was expanding its structural adjustment loans designed to encourage developing countries to open their economies more to free competition and trade adjustment loans could rise to pct of total world bank loans in the near future though maybe not this year conable told reuters after his speech such loans currently account for slightly over pct reuter 
nakasone to visit washington in late april prime minister yasuhiro nakasone will make an official week long visit to the united states from april and hold talks in washington with president reagan chief cabinet secretary masaharu gotoda told reporters government sources said nakasone would try to resolve growing bilateral trade friction and discuss the june venice summit of western industrial democracies foreign minister tadashi kuranari will accompany nakasone ministry officials said u s industry sources in washington said the white house economic policy council was recommending trade sanctions against japan for violating the two countries agreement on semiconductor trade under the pact japan pledged to stop dumping microchips in the u s and asia and open its domestic market to u s semiconductors reuter 
bank of spain suspends assistance the bank of spain suspended its daily money market assistance obliging borrowers to take funds from the second window where on wednesday rates were raised to pct compared with pct for normal overnight funds money market sources said in view of high borrower demand the suspension was likely to remain in effect until april the start of the next day accounting period for reserve requirements the suspension comes after the bank yesterday gave billion pesetas assistance a record high for this year it said billion pesetas was provided at the second window reuter 
nakasone hard pressed to soothe u s anger on trade prime minister yasuhiro nakasone will visit washington next month in a bid to defuse mounting u s anger over japanese trade policies but western diplomats said they believed his chances of success were slim boxed in by powerful political pressure groups and widespread opposition to his tax reform plans nakasone will be hard pressed to come up with anything new to tell u s president ronald reagan and key u s congressmen they said news of the week long visit starting april coincided with news that japan recorded a billion dlr trade surplus last month more than pct higher than a year earlier it also came one day after the reagan administration s economic policy council decided to take retaliatory action against japan for its alleged failure to live up to a joint trade agreement on computer microchips nakasone wants to go armed with two separate packages one designed to pep up japan s sagging economy and imports in the short term the other to redirect the country in the medium term away from its over dependence on exports for growth but government officials said political infighting could rob both packages of much of their punch and might even prevent one from seeing the light of day nakasone has insisted that the government would not draw up a package of short term economic measures until after its budget passed parliament because he feared that would amount to a tacit admission that the budget was inadequate but his hopes for quick passage of the budget in time for his trip have been shattered by a parliamentary boycott by opposition parties protesting over the sales tax plan faced with the possibility that he might have to go to the u s virtually empty handed nakasone today ordered his ruling liberal democratic party ldp to come up with its own measures he can then tell reagan the ldp package will form the basis of the government s plans without losing face in parliament over the budget political analysts said officials working on the government s short term economic package said it would probably include interest rate cuts on loans by government corporations deregulation measures to pass on some of the benefits of the strong yen to consumers in the form of lower prices and accelerated public investment they said a record portion of state investment planned for the entire fiscal year will take place in the first half probably over pct diplomats said that was unlikely to be enough to satisfy reagan who is under pressure from the democrat controlled u s congress to take greater action to cut the huge american trade deficit to complement the short term measures nakasone is also likely to present reagan with details of japan s longer term economic plans a high ranking advisory body headed by former bank of japan governor haruo maekawa is expected to come up with a final report outlining concrete steps to redirect the economy days before nakasone is scheduled to leave for washington its recommendations are designed as a follow up to maekawa s report last year on economic restructuring and are likely to cover such potentially politically explosive areas as agricultural reform and land policy officials said while wanting to make the report as explicit and detailed as possible they said the political realities might force them to water down some of the committee s recommendations a subcommittee is considering what the japanese economy might look like in the medium to longer term after it undergoes massive restructuring officials said the subcommittee projects that the current account surplus will fall to less than two pct of japan s total output or gross national product around or last year the surplus which measures trade in goods and services amounted to over four pct of gnp the subcommittee also projects annual economic growth for japan of nearly four pct over that period and a very gradual appreciation of the yen to about to the dollar by around from now reuter 
u k money market given mln stg assistance the bank of england said it provided the money market with mln stg in assistance this morning this compares with the bank s estimate of the shortage in the system of mln stg earlier revised up from mln the central bank purchased bank bills outright comprising mln stg in band one at pct mln stg in band two at pct and two mln stg in band three at pct reuter 
bank of france again buying dollars sources say the bank of france intervened in the paris foreign exchange market this morning for the third successive day banking sources said like yesterday it bought dollars and sold yen in small amounts they said one dealer said it was seen in the market twice in early dealing buying five mln dlrs each time other dealers also reported small scale intervention to stabilise the dollar after aggressive selling overnight in tokyo where the bank of japan also intervened again the dollar steadied at around francs after easing in early trading to from an opening it closed yesterday at one major french bank said it bought mln dlrs for the central bank selling yen within a trading range of yen to the dollar compared with yesterday s rate at which intervention was carried out here the yen later firmed to around reuter 
bundesbank bought dollars against yen dealers say the bundesbank entered the open market in the late morning to buy dollars against yen in concert with the bank of france dealers said the bundesbank came into the market when the dollar was around yen just after it had fallen below to touch at gmt the move had little effect with the dollar still testing yen ahead of the official fixing dealers said the intervention was for fairly small amounts in contrast to the bundesbank s activity on wednesday when dealers reported it bought about mln dlrs the bundesbank had no comment reuter 
bank of france buys dollars at paris fixing dealers 
india steps up countertrade deals to cut trade gap india is searching for non communist countertrade partners to help it cut its trade deficit and conserve foreign exchange wheat tobacco tea coffee jute engineering and electronic goods as well as minerals including iron ore are all on offer in return for crude oil petroleum products chemicals steel and machinery trade sources told reuters most of the impetus behind countertrade which began in comes from two state trading firms the state trading corp stc and the minerals and metals trading corp mmtc the two state trading corporations are free to use their buying power in respect to bulk commodities to promote indian exports a commerce ministry spokeswoman said adding that private firms are excluded from countertrading one trade source said india has targetted countries that depend on an indian domestic market recently opened to foreign imports however countertrade deals still make up only a small part of india s total trading and are likely to account for less than eight pct of the estimated billion dlrs in trade during the nine months ended december the sources said countertrade accounted for just five pct of india s billion dlrs in trade during fiscal ended march against almost nothing in official figures show however the figures exclude exchanges with the eastern bloc paid in non convertible indian rupees the sources said total trade with the soviet union involving swaps of agricultural produce and textiles for soviet arms and crude oil is estimated at billion dlrs in fiscal against three billion in indian countertrade which is being promoted mainly to help narrow the country s large trade deficit is still insignificant compared with agreements reached by indonesia venezuela and brazil the trade sources said the trade deficit which hit an estimated record billion dlrs in is expected to decline to billion in the current fiscal year but the push to include non communist countries in countertrade is also due to other factors including the slow growth of foreign reserves a tight debt repayment schedule shrinking aid and trade protectionism businessmen said one source said india is showing more dynamism in promoting countertrade deals than in the past when the deals were made discreetly because they break gatt rules as a member of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt india cannot officially support bartering the mmtc s recent countertrade deals include iron ore exports to yugoslavia for steel structures and rails mmtc s recent global tenders now include a clause that preference will be given to parties who accept payment in kind for goods and services sold to india a trade official said adding that the policy remains flexible we also take into account other factors such as prices at which the goods and services are offered to india the trade official said early this year the commerce ministry quietly told foreign companies interested in selling aircraft ships drilling rigs and railway equipment to india that they stood a better chance if they bought indian goods or services in return the trade sources said illustrating the point the official said a south korean firm recently agreed to sell a drilling platform worth mln dlrs to the state run oil and natural gas commission reuter 
u k money market given further mln stg help the bank of england said it gave the money market a further mln stg assistance in the afternoon session this takes the bank s total assistance so far today to mln stg and compares with its forecast shortage which it earlier revised up to mln stg from mln the central bank purchased bills in band one at pct comprising mln stg bank bills four mln stg local authority bills and one mln stg treasury bills it also bought mln stg bank bills and mln stg of treasury bills in band two at pct reuter 
austria does not intervene to support dollar the austrian national bank did not intervene on the foreign exchange markets today to support the dollar deputy banking department chief herbert danzinger told reuters he denied a suggestion by a dealer at one vienna bank that the national bank had sold marks to support the u s currency senior dealers at creditanstalt and girozentrale austria s two largest banks said they would have been aware of any national bank intervention any dollar purchases by the bank today were for purely day to day purposes they said reuter 
uk may revoke japanese financial licenses the british government may revoke the licences of selected japanese banks and securities companies operating in london s financial city when they come up for renewal next summer if progress is not made towards opening up japan s markets to foreign competition government sources said we can t say yes we are going to do it revoke licences but this is definitely being considered an official said his comments came after the government was formally urged today by a cross section of influential mps to take joint retaliatory action with the united states against japan britain has grown increasingly impatient with japanese trade practices there s a sense of urgency here now but the emphasis is on securing not undermining our interests in japan another government official told reuters prime minister margaret thatcher said on thursday that britain would not hesitate to use new powers contained in the financial services act and the banking bill to retaliate against countries that do not offer reciprocal market access she clearly had japan in mind government sources said the u k last year showed a trade defict with japan of billion stg official figures show a parliamentary motion signed by mps today urged the u k government to coordinate action with the president of the united states and through the department of trade and industry to suspend all further applications from japanese communications companies for equipment approval by the british approvals board for telecommunications and all further applications from japanese financial institutions for licences until authorities in japan stopped imposing what the mps called restrictive conditions on the bid by cable and wireless plc cawl l and its u s and japanese partners for a stake in japan s international telecommunications market the motion for retaliatory steps came from a cross section of mps reflecting the strength of feeling inside parliament parliamentarians said their action would increase pressure on the conservative government to take firm action officials said another option now being considered by the u k is to refuse issuing new banking licences to japanese institutions that could be done under the government s proposed banking bill now moving through parliament japanese financial institutions are authorised to deal in london of which are banks in tokyo london based firms are authorised to do financial business officials said the new financial services and banking acts offer britain an alternative for retaliation which would be otherwise denied under legally binding international trade agreements the financial services act gives trade and industry secretary paul channon power to stop firms from engaging in investment banking and insurance one official said this point has been made to the japanese at official level a number times the official added britain and france are now working together to urge that the european community take collective action against japan but by working within ec treaties another official said british trade minister alan clark said this week in a radio interview that the european community should build barriers against japanese imports through certification procedures similar to those facing european exporters in japan there comes a point where you cannot resist any longer he said adding such barriers can t be put in place overnight clark said the issue of reciprocity regarding visible trade strikes at the basis of whether british industry is to have a fair access to an extremely large market japan which is itself in a very dominant position in certain aspects of our own domestic market it is really a question of fairness the situation is only likely to worsen following news that japan s trade surplus with the rest of the world rose by more than pct in february year on year to billion dlrs from billion in january political sources said but clark said in his interview that the issues of visible trade and access to financial markets should be kept separate should britain decide to act against japanese financial institutions it would most likely focus on the smaller rather than larger ones to minimise any risks to its role as a global business centre government sources said japan s four largest securities houses are members of the london stock exchange in washington white house officials said president reagan was ready to impose retaliatory trade action against japan for breaking its semiconductor agreement with the united states there was no immediate indication when reagan might act on the recommendations of his economic policy council to curb japanese exports to the united states but officials said the move could come today or early next week trade sources said the actions being weighed by reagan included tariffs on a wide variety of japanese exports which use semiconductors reuter 
reagan ready to impose trade curbs against japan president reagan was ready to impose retaliatory trade action against japan for breaking its semiconductor agreement with the united states white house officials said there was no immediate indication when reagan might act on the recommendations of his economic policy council to curb japanese exports to the united states but officials said the move could come today or early next week trade sources said the actions being weighed by reagan include tariffs on a wide variety of japanese exports which use semiconductors the sources said the tariffs could be slapped on personal computers television receivers and laser printers with the aim of penalizing japan s major electronic firms including nec corp hitachi ltd toshiba corp and fujitsu ltd they said reaan could also delay invoking sanctions for a week or two giving japan a final opportunity to end the dumping practice but added that negotiators had already held extensive talks with the japanese to no avail reuter 
taiwan to study suspending forex controls premier yu kuo hua ordered financial officials to quicken the pace of relaxing foreign exchange controls and study the possibility of suspending the controls a cabinet statement said the statement quoted yu as telling finance ministy and central bank officials the relaxation was needed to help reduce taiwan s surging foreign exchange reserves which reached a record billion u s dollars this month finance minister robert chien told reporters his ministry and the central bank would work jointly on new measures to ease the controls but he did not give details yu said the government could maintain the framework of the foreign exchange controls while finding ways to ease them the controls would be used during emergency taiwan s reserves have resulted largely from its trade surplus which hit billion dlrs in and billion in about pct of the surplus was from taiwan s trade with the united states according to official figures but he said that while easing the controls would help reduce the reserves it would not do so substantially in a short time economists and bankers said the new decision resulted from growing pressure from the united states taiwan s largest trading partner which buys almost half the island s exports lu ming jen economic professor at soochow university told reuters the decision came a little bit late but it was better than never ko fei lo vice president at first commercial bank said the government should rapidly relax its foreign exchange controls and open its market wider to help balance trade with its trading partners especially the united states the liberalisation in both imports and foreign exchange controls will not only help our trading partners but also help our own economic problems he said he said the mounting foreign exchange reserveshelped boost taiwan s money supply by pct in the year to end february reuter 
japan s chip makers angered by u s sanction plans japanese computer chip makers reacted angrily to news the united states plans to take retaliatory action against them for allegedly failing to live up to an agreement on trade in computer microchips electronic industries association of japan eiaj chairman shoichi saba stated eiaj believes that it is premature and even irrational to attempt an assessment of the impact of the agreement and our efforts to comply with it only six months after concluding the agreement we urge u s governmental authorities to reconsider the decision made to evaluate fairly the results of japanese efforts in implementing the objectives of the agreement and to resist emotional biases he said yesterday washington announced plans to slap as much as mln dlrs in tariffs on japanese imports in retaliation for what is sees as japan s failure to comply with the terms of the pact the agreement struck late last year after months of heated negotiations called on japan to stop selling cut price chips on world markets and to buy more american made semiconductors to salvage the pact tokyo has instructed its chip makers to slash production and has helped establish a multi lateral organisation designed to promote chip imports saba said that japanese chip companies have pledged three mln dlrs over the next five years to the new organisation and expressed regret that no american company has seen fit to join this suggests that american semiconductor manufacturers may not be really interested in participating in the japanese market he said reuter 
official wants arab fund to help lebanese pound lebanese central bank vice governor meguerditch bouldikian called for the establishment of an arab fund to assist the lebanese pound which has lost more than pct of its value against the dollar since january bouldikian told an arab exchange dealers conference the bank would continue to take measures to defend the currency but he said lebanon needed foreign support for its war battered economy now more than ever before we expect a common effort between the central bank and arab central banks and monetary authorities to create an arab fund to support and preserve the value of the currency when needed he said twelve years of civil war have devastated productive sectors of the lebanese economy and created gaping trade and budget deficits bouldikian said recent government measures had succeeded in reducing demand for imports and increasing exports these are encouraging factors but the war has not ended yet he said we believe that with a just political solution acceptable to all sides confidence will return and this will benefit the lebanese pound and lebanon in the meantime he said the central bank had four main goals to use surplus liquidity to finance the budget deficit to increase the role of commercial banks and non bank financing institutions in financing the deficit to limit the transfer of lebanese pounds into foreign currency deposits to protect the financial health of commercial banks reuter 
china postpones plan to scrap parallel currency chinese vice premier tian jiyun said plans to scrap the country s parallel currency foreign exchange certificates fecs had been postponed due to objections from foreign businessmen and others but tian told a news conference the chinese government still considered fecs unsatisfactory asked about the current state of plans to abolish the fecs tian said we have decided to postpone the question as to whether it will be done in the future it will be done according to the evolution of the situation he said many people including foreign businessmen had raised objections to the plan to abolish the certificates and added it is rather complicated the fecs were introduced in for use by foreigners in china but they now circulate widely among local residents and there is a big black market in the currency though it is theoretically at par with the ordinary chinese currency renminbi tian said the government still considered that the fecs had many demerits and negative influences bank of china president wang deyan told reuters earlier this month that he thought it unlikely that the certificates would be scrapped this year western diplomats and economists have said the chinese authorities are having trouble finding a suitable alternative vice premier yao yilin announced at a similar press conference last year that the fecs would be abolished saying the government had decided it was ideologically unacceptable to have two currencies circulating in china at the same time reuter 
nakasone sounds conciliatory note in chip dispute prime minister yasuhiro nakasone sounded a conciliatory note in japan s increasingly bitter row with the united states over trade in computer microchips japan wants to resolve the issue through consultations by explaining its stance thoroughly and correcting the points that need to be corrected he was quoted by kyodo news service as saying while expressing regret over america s decision to impose tariffs on imports of japanese electrical goods nakasone said tokyo was willing to send a high level official to washington to help settle the dispute government officials said japan would make a formal request next week for emergency talks and that the two sides would probably meet the week after just days before the april deadline set by washington for the tariffs to take effect tokyo is expected to propose a joint u s japan investigation of american claims that japanese companies are dumping cut price chips in asian markets yesterday washington announced plans to put as much as mln dlrs in tariffs on imports of certain japanese electronic goods in retaliation for what it sees as tokyo s failure to live up to their bilateral chip pact that agreement hammered out late last year after months of heated negotiations called on japan to stop selling cut price chips in world markets and to buy more american made chips nakasone s comments seemed distinctly more conciliatory than those of his trade and industry minister hajime tamura who earlier today said japan was ready to take appropriate measures if washington went ahead with the sanctions ministry of international trade and industry miti officials later sought to downplay the significance of tamura s remark and said that his main message was that the two sides need to talk urgently about the issue but they admitted that japan was considering taking the united states to gatt the geneva based international organization which polices world trade if washington imposed the tariffs any japanese action would probably be taken under article of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt they said if that article were invoked gatt would set up a panel to consider the legality of the u s action but officials here said they hope that can be avoided it may be wishful thinking but there is a possibility the united states may lift its decision at an early date tamura said in announcing the u s sanctions yesterday president ronald reagan said he was prepared to lift them once he had evidence that japan was no longer dumping chips in world markets and had opened up its own market to imports japanese government officials said they are confident they can make the pact work they said that the export of cut price japanese chips through unregulated distributors has all but dried up after miti instructed domestic makers to cut output while acknowledging that it is harder to increase japanese imports of american chips miti officials said that the ministry is doing all it can to ensure that happens the ministry recently called on japan s major chip users some of whom are also leading producers to step up their purchases of foreign semiconductors a spokesman for one of the companies toshiba corp tsba t said his firm would do just that and could announce its plans in the next week or so he expects other japanese companies to do likewise reuter 
islamic banks establish mln dlr trade portfolio the islamic development bank idb and islamic banks signed an agreement to establish a mln dlr trade portfolio to finance trade among islamic countries idb sources said they said idb s share in the portfolio which will only finance exports and imports of the private sector was limited to up to mln dlrs the sources said shares in the porfolio could be traded or redeemed by the idb adding that this was a major step in establishing an islamic financial market reuter 
bank sees modest recovery in gulf arab economies the emirates industrial bank has predicted a modest economic recovery in the gulf arab states following higher oil revenues a bank study carried by the emirates news agency wam said total oil revenues of the six gulf cooperation council gcc countries were likely to reach billion dlrs this year from billion in the gcc groups bahrain kuwait oman qatar saudi arabia and the united arab emirates uae the bank said the improvement would result from higher oil prices made possible by last december s opec accord to restrain overall group production these curbs have pushed up oil prices from around eight dollars a barrel in mid to around dlrs all signs point to the possibility of a modest recovery in the economies of these gcc countries although this expected growth will not be similar to that of the s boom years the study said it added however that gcc states would experience higher budget deficits this year because of needs arising from past recession and the difficulty of making fresh spending cuts the study said the combined gcc bugdet deficits would rise to billion dlrs from billion last year it said lower oil exports cut the gcc states combined trade surplus to billion dlrs in from billion in the uae suffered a pct drop in gross domestic product to billion dirhams last year from billion in it added reuter 
arab banker says too soon for single currency gulf arab states must coordinate economic policies more closely before moving towards their goal of a unified currency system the president of the arab bankers association said hikmat nashashibi told a news conference at the end of an arab currency traders meeting we have to start with coordination of fiscal policies as a prerequisite for a common system of currencies there is quite a substantial way to go yet he said only then would a unified gulf currency system be a plausible project the six nations of the gulf cooperation council saudi arabia kuwait bahrain oman qatar and the united arab emirates have held a series of meetings this year to examine linking their currencies to a single peg in a system which bankers say could be modelled on the european monetary system ems at present five currencies are linked either officially or in practice to the u s dollar while the kuwaiti dinar is pegged to a trade weighted basket of currencies a common currency system or ems style grid would in theory foster regional trade by providing a basis for stable exchange rates but nashashibi said inter arab trade is at a very low ebb and capital flows between gulf states remain small capital markets in the arab world are still in their infancy he said nashashibi said lack of experience among arab banks a paucity of financial instruments and a legal framework that often does not recognise the western banking concept of interest have hampered the growth of arab markets reuter 
arab forex association elects new chairman the inter arab cambist association ica elected abdullah al dakhil of kuwait s burgan bank its new chairman succeeding hani ramadan of beirut riyad bank for a three year term ica officials said the annual meeting elected three vice chairmen ezzedine saidane of banque internationale arabe de tunis mohammed osman of societe bancaire du liban and walid nasouli of morgan guaranty trust co of new york ibrahim buhindi of the saudi national commercial bank in bahrain and imad bata of finance and credit corp of jordan were elected secretary and treasurer respectively reuter 
tokyo bids to stop chip row turning into trade war japan is seeking to prevent its computer chips dispute with the u s from erupting into a full scale trade war government officials said we hope that the dispute on this specific issue won t have an adverse effect on our overall relationship with the united states a ministry of international trade and industry miti official said on friday washington announced plans for as much as mln dlrs in tariffs on japanese electronic goods for tokyo s alleged failure to live up to a bilateral computer chip pact that agreement reached last year after heated negotiations called on japan to stop selling cut price chips in world markets and to buy more american made semiconductors foreign ministry officials immediately tried to isolate the fall out from the dispute by seeking to separate it from prime minister yasuhiro nakasone s planned trip to washington at the end of april while japan has already done about all it can to make sure the chip pact is working the government is studying measures it can take in other fields to defuse american anger and ensure the trip s success they said the perception of japan in the u s congress is very bad one official told reuters we would very much like to do something to respond to that in an apparent effort to prevent the chip dispute from spreading to other areas miti officials sought to depict the u s action as a severe warning to japanese semiconductor makers not to the government faced with a belligerent domestic chip industry and an angry american congress the japanese government has been forced to walk an increasingly fine line in the semiconductor dispute trade analysts said they said that it was an open secret that japan s largest chip maker nec corp was not happy with what it viewed as the draconian measures miti was taking to implement the pact included enforced production cuts the angry response of japanese chip makers yesterday to the announcement of the u s tariffs highlighted the difficulties the government faces in taking further action japanese semiconductor manufacturers have complied with the u s japan agreement said shoichi saba chairman of the electronic industries association of japan he accused the u s of being irrational he said the u s action had made the bilateral chip pact meaningless saba s comments contrasted with those of prime minister yasuhiro nakasone who said tokyo wanted to solve the dispute through consultations japan is expected to send a high level official to washington early next month to try to convince the u s not to go ahead with the tariffs on april trade analysts say tokyo is likely to outline industry plans to step up purchases of u s chips and to propose a joint investigation into washington s allegations of chip dumping reuter 
japan carefully considering money policy sumita bank of japan governor satoshi sumita said the central bank will carefully consider its monetary policy in light of the recent sharp fall of the dollar asked if the bank of japan will consider a further cut in its discount rate he said he now thinks the bank will have to carefully consider its future money policy he told a lower house budget committee in parliament that credit conditions have been eased by the five discount rate cuts by japan since the beginning of last year japan must now be especially careful about a flare up in inflation with money supply growth accelerating he said sumita said the central bank would continue to make a judgement on monetary policies while watching consumer prices exchange rates and economic and financial conditions both in and outside japan asked if the september plaza agreement was a failure because the dollar had fallen too far sumita said he still thought the pact was a good one in the sense that it had corrected the overvaluation of the dollar but the plaza accord did not set any target for the dollar s fall he said the dollar s steep fall stems from the market s belief that the trade imbalance will continue to expand he said reuter 
baldrige predicts end of u s japan trade dispute the united states and japan will soon settle their trade dispute over semiconductors u s commerce secretary malcolm baldrige said on television baldrige referring to the u s japan trade agreement on semiconductors said their government wants to live up to it their industries haven t been doing it and i think we ll have a good settlement to spare both sides i think the japanese understand full well that they haven t lived up to this commitment he said he added i do not think there will be a trade war at all on friday washington announced plans to put as much as mln dlrs in tariffs on japanese electronic goods from april because of tokyo s failure to observe the agreement the officials said the tariffs would be ended as soon as japan started adhering to the agreement but they said there was little chance japan could react quickly enough to avert the higher tariffs baldrige said the reagan administration hoped the strong u s action against japan would convince congress to tone down protectionist trade legislation now being drafted he denied the action had been taken for that reason reuter 
iraq says iranian oil network attacked baghdad marckraq said its warplanes attacked the pipeline network through which oil is pumped to iran s main oil terminal at kharg island in the northern gulf large numbers of our warplanes attacked the installations where the pipelines pump oil from ganaveh to kharg island turning them into rubble and setting them ablaze a military spokesman said he did not give the exact location of the area attacked but ganaveh terminal is on the iranian gulf coast some miles northeast of kharg island which itself has been attacked at least times since august reuter 
indonesia limits oil price impact finance minister indonesia has minimised the economic impact of falling oil prices kept inflation within limits and boosted exports finance minister radius prawiro said indonesia was badly hit by last year s steep plunge in crude prices which cut revenue from oil exports by half but prawiro was quoted by indonesian newspapers as telling president suharto that inflation was kept to around nine pct in the financial year ending tomorrow against around pct the previous year exports were estimated to have risen by seven pct he said although he did not give complete figures the depressed economy forms the main backdrop to general elections next month in indonesia a major producer of rubber palm oil tin timber and coffee prawiro said had also been difficult because of the appreciation of currencies like the yen and the mark against the dollar which increased indonesia s debt repayments he said the economy would have suffered more from the world economic recession if the government had not devalued the rupiah by pct last september in an editorial on the economic outlook the jakarta post said the government must press ahead with measures to deregulate the economy to help boost non oil exports the english language daily said bigger export earnings were needed to finance not only imports but also the country s growing foreign debt estimated at around billion dlrs about pct of our foreign debt obligations fall due within the next three to five years and will steadily increase the debt servicing burden the paper said however end investors were seen bargain hunting in expectation of a further yen interest rate decline dealers said most dealers were cautious in the face of the dollar s nosedive today and the possibility of a u s interest rate rebound to halt further dollar depreciation a pct coupon and volume of billion yen for the april year bond proposed by the finance ministry this afternoon were taken favourably by the market reuter 
japan has little new to offer in microchip dispute the japanese government appears to have little new to offer to settle a dispute with the u s over computer chips trade analysts and government officials said the u s has threatened to impose tariffs worth up to mln dlrs on japanese electronics exports to the u s in retaliation for japan s alleged failure to keep a pact on the microchip trade signed last september a foreign ministry official told reuters japan has done what it can and now we must persuade the united states to wait for those steps to take effect the u s alleges that in defiance of the september agreement japan is still selling microchips at below cost in non u s markets and refusing to open japan further to u s chip sales u s tariffs are due to take effect on april analysts noted japan s ministry of international trade and industry miti has already ordered chipmakers to cut production in order to dry up the source of cheap chips sold in third countries at non regulated prices i m not sure miti can do much more than it has said jardine fleming securities ltd analyst nick edwards a miti official said the ministry was not planning to call for production cuts beyond those already sought although it would continue to press chip users to buy more foreign goods spokesmen for some japanese electronics firms said they would consider buying more u s chips but a matsushita electric industrial co spokesman said a rapid increase in imports was not likely most analysts said japanese exporters would be hard hit if the united states did implement the tariffs which would be levied on consumer electronics products rather than on microchips themselves if the tariffs remain in place for any length of time there will be complete erosion of exports to the united states said tom murtha analyst at james capel and co the japanese electronics industry is too powerful to be stopped altogether but recovery for the industry will be delayed for another year he said some analysts said tariffs would also harm u s industry by stepping up offshore production and by reducing demand in japan for semiconductors u s firms are trying to sell here the american approach is full of contradictions jardine fleming s edwards said if they want to expand u s exports the last thing they want to do is hit the makers of the final products because that hurts the final market edwards said but other analysts said the dispute reflects not just u s concern over what it sees as a strategic industry but also frustration with japan s vast trade surplus some analysts argued that to solve the semiconductor problem japan may have to take action beyond that pledged in the semiconductor pact carole ryavec an analyst at salomon brothers asia ltd said the major overall issue is to stimulate the domestic economy and move away from an export dependent economy reuter 
bahrain introduces new money market regime bahrain is introducing a new domestic money market regime to provide dinar liquidity aid centred on the island s newly launched treasury bill programme the bahrain monetary agency has issued a circular to all commercial banks outlining a new policy from april which gives liquidity aid through sale and repurchase agreements in treasury bills or through discounting them the circular released officially to reuters said current arrangements for providing liquidity aid will no longer be valid except in quite exceptional circumstances under the current system the agency provides the island s commercial banks with dinar liquidity by means of short term swaps against u s dollars and less frequently by short term loans secured against government development bonds the agency considers that it is now appropriate to replace these operations with short term assistance based on government of bahrain treasury bills the circular to banks states the agency said it will repurchase treasury bills with a simultaneous agreement to resell them to the same bank at a higher price which will reflect an interest charge the agency said it envisages the repurchase agreements will normally be for a period of seven days bahrain launched a weekly tender for two mln dinars of day treasury bills in mid december last year and has since raised a total of mln dinars through the programme bahrain s commercial banks are currently liquid and have been making little use of the traditional dollar swaps offered by the agency but banking sources said the new regime from april will mean banks cannot afford not to hold treasury bills in case they need funds from the central bank banking sources said more than half of the banks hold treasury bills although the need by others to take up paper could increase demand at weekly tenders and push down allotted yields slightly last week s yield was six pct although the programme had started at the end of last year with rates as low as pct banking sources said the cost of liquidity through repurchase accords will not differ much from that on dollar swaps but a bank using dollars to obtain liquidity would foresake interest on the u s currency while the underlying treasury bill investment is unaffected in a repurchase accord reuter 
bank of england forecasts surplus in money market the bank of england said it forecast a liquidity surplus of around mln stg in the money market today among the main factors affecting liquidity exchequer transactions will add some mln stg to the system today while a fall in note circulation and bankers balances above target will add around mln stg and mln stg respectively partly offsetting these inflows bills for repurchase by the market will drain some mln stg while bills maturing in official hands and the treasury bill take up will remove about mln stg reuter 
philadelphia exchange to extend hours for asia the philadelphia stock exchange phlx a leading trader of currency options plans to extend its trading hours to serve australasian and far eastern markets exchange president nicholas giordano said he told reporters the phlx will open a new session between and hours u s est from the beginning of the third quarter this year the phlx is also opening an office in hong kong to serve clients in the region and educate financial markets about the advantages of currency options giordano said giordano was in sydney to start an asian pacific tour by exchange executives promoting the hedging benefits of the exchange trade currency option market against existing over the counter option trading during the local working day currency options pioneered by the phlx in had become an accepted means of hedging against foreign exchange risk and had grown in popularity he said the phlx now offered options in eight currencies including a new australian dollar option and traded an average contracts daily with underlying open interest of more than billion u s dlrs giordano said the exchange had been impressed with the performance of its australian dollar contract which since its introduction last year had regularly topped the french franc as the third most popular traded option with up to contracts traded daily having the philadelphia exchange open during the asia pacific market day would open new hedging opportunities set a truer level for over the counter option trading increase arbitraging opportunities and give corporations and treasuries access to a currency option market of much greater depth and liquidity with the security of a clearing house he said reuter 
japan conducts currency survey of big investors a finance ministry official said the ministry has recently conducted a survey on foreign exchange transactions by institutional investors but declined to say if it was aimed at moderating their dollar sales however financial market sources said they had heard the ministry has asked life insurance and securities firms to refrain from selling dollars but they were unable to confirm this directly dealers said life insurance firms were not major sellers of dollars in recent trading sessions because they had already sold them to hedge risks dealers said securities houses and trust banks on the other hand have aggressively sold the dollar reuter 
bp u k refinery due to partly re open next week the british petroleum co plc bp l oil refinery at grangemouth closed after an explosion and fire eight days ago is expected to partially reopen next week a refinery spokesman said he said the entire bpd refinery has been shut since the accident which killed one person and damaged the site s hydrocracker the main units will resume operation next week but the hydrocracker will be closed for an unspecified period the spokesman said the refinery had been operating at about half its capacity since end january due to overhaul work on part of the complex the overhaul is expected to end by late april reuter 
bank of england does not operate in money market the bank of england said it had not operated in the money market during the morning session earlier the bank revised its forecast of the liquidity position to flat from its original estimate of a mln stg surplus reuter 
asian dollar market assets fall in january the gross size of the asian dollar market contracted to billion u s dlrs in january down billion dlrs from december reflecting a decline in interbank activity the monetary authority of singapore mas said in its latest monthly bulletin the assets stood at billion dlrs in january last year mas said interbank lending fell in january to billion dlrs from billion in december but rose from billion in january and interbank deposits to billion against and billion respectively loans to non bank customers increased to billion dlrs in january from billion in december and billion in january deposits of non bank customers also increased in january to billion from billion a month ago and billion a year ago reuter 
nakasone sounds conciliatory note in chip dispute prime minister yasuhiro nakasone sounded a conciliatory note in japan s increasingly bitter row with the united states over trade in computer microchips japan wants to resolve the issue through consultations by explaining its stance thoroughly and correcting the points that need to be corrected he was quoted by kyodo news service as saying while expressing regret over america s decision to impose tariffs on imports of japanese electrical goods nakasone said tokyo was willing to send a high level official to washington to help settle the dispute government officials said japan would make a formal request next week for emergency talks and that the two sides would probably meet the week after just days before the april deadline set by washington for the tariffs to take effect tokyo is expected to propose a joint u s japan investigation of american claims that japanese companies are dumping cut price chips in asian markets on friday washington announced plans to put as much as mln dlrs in tariffs on imports of certain japanese electronic goods in retaliation for what it sees as tokyo s failure to live up to their bilateral chip pact reuter 
philadelphia exchange to extend hours for asia the philadelphia stock exchange phlx a leading trader of currency options plans to extend its trading hours to serve australasian and far eastern markets exchange president nicholas giordano said he told reporters the phlx will open a new session between and hours u s est from the beginning of the third quarter this year the phlx is also opening an office in hong kong to serve clients in the region and educate financial markets about the advantages of currency options giordano said giordano was in sydney to start an asian pacific tour by exchange executives promoting the hedging benefits of the exchange trade currency option market against existing over the counter option trading during the local working day currency options pioneered by the phlx in had become an accepted means of hedging against foreign exchange risk and had grown in popularity he said the phlx now offered options in eight currencies including a new australian dollar option and traded an average contracts daily with underlying open interest of more than billion u s dlrs giordano said the exchange had been impressed with the performance of its australian dollar contract which since its introduction last year had regularly topped the french franc as the third most popular traded option with up to contracts traded daily having the philadelphia exchange open during the asia pacific market day would open new hedging opportunities set a truer level for over the counter option trading increase arbitraging opportunities and give corporations and treasuries access to a currency option market of much greater depth and liquidity with the security of a clearing house he said reuter 
japan carefully considering money policy sumita bank of japan governor satoshi sumita said the central bank will carefully consider its monetary policy in light of the recent sharp fall of the dollar asked if the bank of japan will consider a further cut in its discount rate he said he now thinks the bank will have to carefully consider its future money policy he told a lower house budget committee in parliament that credit conditions have been eased by the five discount rate cuts by japan since the beginning of last year japan must now be especially careful about a flare up in inflation with money supply growth accelerating he said sumita said the central bank would continue to make a judgement on monetary policies while watching consumer prices exchange rates and economic and financial conditions both in and outside japan asked if the september plaza agreement was a failure because the dollar had fallen too far sumita said he still thought the pact was a good one in the sense that it had corrected the overvaluation of the dollar but the plaza accord did not set any target for the dollar s fall he said the dollar s steep fall stems from the market s belief that the trade imbalance will continue to expand he said reuter 
tokyo bids to stop chip row becoming trade war japan is seeking to prevent its computer chips dispute with the u s from erupting into a full scale trade war government officials said we hope that the dispute on this specific issue won t have an adverse effect on our overall relationship with the united states a ministry of international trade and industry miti official said on friday washington announced plans for as much as mln dlrs in tariffs on japanese electronic goods for tokyo s alleged failure to live up to a bilateral computer chip pact that agreement reached last year after heated negotiations called on japan to stop selling cut price chips in world markets and to buy more american made semiconductors foreign ministry officials immediately tried to isolate the fall out from the dispute by seeking to separate it from prime minister yasuhiro nakasone s planned trip to washington at the end of april while japan has already done about all it can to make sure the chip pact is working the government is studying measures it can take in other fields to defuse american anger and ensure the trip s success they said the perception of japan in the u s congress is very bad one official told reuters we would very much like to do something to respond to that in an apparent effort to prevent the chip dispute from spreading to other areas miti officials sought to depict the u s action as a severe warning to japanese semiconductor makers not to the government faced with a belligerent domestic chip industry and an angry american congress the japanese government has been forced to walk an increasingly fine line in the semiconductor dispute trade analysts said they said that it was an open secret that japan s largest chip maker nec corp was not happy with what it viewed as the draconian measures miti was taking to implement the pact included enforced production cuts the angry response of japanese chip makers yesterday to the announcement of the u s tariffs highlighted the difficulties the government faces in taking further action japanese semiconductor manufacturers have complied with the u s japan agreement said shoichi saba chairman of the electronic industries association of japan he accused the u s of being irrational he said the u s action had made the bilateral chip pact meaningless saba s comments contrasted with those of prime minister yasuhiro nakasone who said tokyo wanted to solve the dispute through consultations japan is expected to send a high level official to washington early next month to try to convince the u s not to go ahead with the tariffs on april trade analysts say tokyo is likely to outline industry plans to step up purchases of u s chips and to propose a joint investigation into u s allegations of chip dumping reuter 
baldrige predicts end of u s japan trade dispute the united states and japan will soon settle their trade dispute over semiconductors u s commerce secretary malcolm baldrige said on television baldrige referring to the u s japan trade agreement on semiconductors said their government wants to live up to it their industries haven t been doing it and i think we ll have a good settlement to spare both sides i think the japanese understand full well that they haven t lived up to this commitment he said he added i do not think there will be a trade war at all on friday washington announced plans to put as much as mln dlrs in tariffs on japanese electronic goods from april because of tokyo s failure to observe the agreement the officials said the tariffs would be ended as soon as japan started adhering to the agreement but they said there was little chance japan could react quickly enough to avert the higher tariffs baldrige said the reagan administration hoped the strong u s action against japan would convince congress to tone down protectionist trade legislation now being drafted he denied the action had been taken for that reason reuter 
u k money market given mln stg assistance the bank of england said it had provided the money market with assistance worth mln stg in the afternoon session this compares with the bank s forecast of a shortage in the system today of around mln stg the central bank purchased mln stg bank bills in band one at pct reuter 
japan conducts currency survey of big investors a finance ministry official said the ministry has recently conducted a survey on foreign exchange transactions by institutional investors but declined to say if it was aimed at moderating their dollar sales however financial market sources said they had heard the ministry has asked life insurance and securities firms to refrain from selling dollars but they were unable to confirm this directly dealers said life insurance firms were not major sellers of dollars in recent trading sessions because they had already sold them to hedge risks dealers said securities houses and trust banks on the other hand have aggressively sold the dollar reuter 
japanese seen lightening u s bond holdings the dollar s tumble to a record low of yen in tokyo today motivated some major japanese investors to lighten their u s bond inventory further and is expected to spur diversification into investment assets including foreign and domestic shares dealers said the key u s pct treasury bond due fell to a low of in early tokyo trade against the new york finish then recovered to some trust bank pension fund acccounts and investment trusts were seen selling several hundred million dollars on the foreign exchange market here today accentuating the unit s tumble securities house dealers said they seem undecided on what to do with the fresh yen cash positions resulting from their dollar sales today and are sidelined until the currency market stabilises and the interest rates outlook clarifies a nikko securities co ltd currency trader said the dollar s plunge and low yields on u s bonds will further promote diversification into other foreign investments as well as call back funds into the domestic bond and stock markets from overseas bond markets securities bond managers said they said major japanese investors in the past two years are estimated to have held to pct of their foreign portfolios in u s bonds but many have lightened their u s bond inventory to as low as pct since late last year japanese investors seeking substantial liquidity and attractive yields have used fresh funds to buy mark and canadian dollar bonds and after the paris currency pact actively bought french franc bonds and gilts while gradually lightening u s bond inventories the managers said dealers said funds tied up in foreign assets had flowed into local bond and stock markets as well the yield of the key pct th bond dropped to a record low of pct today from the saturday finish and compared with pct on three month certificates of deposit the key bond has fluctuated less than five basis points for more than a month here suggesting most dealers could not satisfy their needs for capital gains dealers said a market survey by reuters showed some active accounts in u s treasuries are currently dealing on tokyo s stock market the stock market s bullishness late last week was partly due to funds transferred from u s treasuries dealers said japanese net purchases of foreign securities in the first half of march fell an estimated one billion dlrs compared with average monthly net purchases of billion for the whole of finance ministry sources said the steep fall is due to japanese investors cool attitude towards u s bonds which had amounted to more than pct of total foreign securities purchased securities houses managers said foreign stock buying in march is expected to exceed the record high of billion dlrs seen in december they said diversification of foreign portfolios is underway and we have bought bonds in currencies such as marks the canadian dollar the ecu and french franc a fund manager at yasuda trust and banking co ltd said reuter 
yugoslav trade falls sharply statistics show yugoslav trade is declining rapidly this year in hard currency terms according to the latest federal statistics office fso figures the fso figures showed total exports from january to march valued at billion dinars compared with billion dinars in the same period last year these figures were down by pct on last year in dollar terms due to exchange rate fluctuations and changes in how the figures were calculated fso sources said this year current exchange rates were used for the first time instead of a fixed rate of dinars to the dollar belgrade march yugoslav trade is declining rapidly this year in hard currency terms according to the latest federal statistics office fso figures the fso figures showed total exports from january to march valued at billion dinars compared with billion dinars in the same period last year these figures were down by pct on last year in dollar terms due to exchange rate fluctuations and changes in how the figures were calculated fso sources said this year current exchange rates were used for the first time instead of a fixed rate of dinars to the dollar 
mexican first qtr crude exports seen at dlrs the average price of mexico s crude oil exports in first quarter will be dlrs per barrel according to preliminary figures issued in a press release by the state oil company petroleos mexicanos pemex it gave no direct comparison with the year ago figure but said crude and products sales were expected to rise to billion dlrs this quarter mln dlrs higher than expected and pct better than the year ago quarter prospects for the second quarter were relatively favourable with crude exports seen at mln bpd after an expected mln this month in february and mln in january reuter 
fed sets two billion dlr customer repurchase fed says 
fed adds reserves via customer repurchases the federal reserve entered the u s government securities market to arrange two billion dlrs of customer repurchase agreements a fed spokesman said dealers said federal funds were trading at pct when the fed began its temporary and indirect supply of reserves to the banking system reuter 
mexican first qtr crude exports seen at dlrs the average price of mexico s crude oil exports in first quarter will be dlrs per barrel according to preliminary figures issued in a press release by the state oil company petroleos mexicanos pemex it gave no direct comparison with the year ago figure but said crude and products sales were expected to rise to billion dlrs this quarter mln dlrs higher than expected and pct better than the year ago quarter prospects for the second quarter were relatively favourable with crude exports seen at mln bpd after an expected mln this month in february and mln in january reuter 
economic spotlight u s congress raps japan the u s congress is making japan with its enormous worldwide trade surplus the symbol of the u s trade crisis and the focus of its efforts to turn around america s record trade deficit japan has come to symbolize what we fear most in trade the challenge to our high technology industries the threat of government nutured competition and the multitude of barriers to our exports senate democratic leader robert byrd said if we can find a way to come to terms with japan over trade problems we can manage our difficulties with other countries the west virginia democrat said at a senate finance committee hearing on the trade bill byrd and house speaker jim wright a texas democrat have made trade legislation a priority this year and a wide ranging bill is being readied for probable house approval next month japan s bilateral trade surplus jumped from billion dlrs in to billion dlrs last year its surplus rose to billion dlrs in february from billion dlrs in january congress points to the record billion dlrs u s trade deficit in and the slow response in the trade imbalance to the dollar s decline in world currency markets as a reason to press japan to buy more u s goods they are particularly dismayed by the rapid deterioration in u s exports of sophisticated computer technology in response to the growing anger and pressure by the u s semiconductor industry president reagan friday announced he intended to raise tariffs as much as mln dlrs on japanese electronic goods in retaliation for japan s failure to abide by a u s japanese semiconductor agreement congress also has been been angered by the administration s lack of success with japan on a host of other trade issues including beef citrus automobile parts telecommunications goods and financial services the bulk of the house trade bill was written last week in four committees it is a package of trade sanctions and measures to force the administration take tough action against foreign trade barriers and unfair competition although most provisions do not single out japan in many cases their impact would be to restrict imports of japanese products or make them more expensive with higher duties the cornerstone of the trade legislation passed the house ways and means committee by a vote of to its focus is to force president reagan to retaliate against unfair foreign competition and to make it easier for u s industries to win temporary relief from surges in imports the most controversial issue an amendment to restrict imports if countries such as japan with large surpluses do not buy more u s goods was left for an april vote by the house rep richard gephardt a democratic presidential aspirant from missouri has the support of wright and other key democrats to press for passage of the amendment the measure would have the most impact on japan west germany taiwan and south korea if japan for example does not reduce its barriers by mid the united states would set import quotas or tariffs to cut japanese surplus by ten per cent a year for three years i m tired of going into companies and having managers say to me we re not over competing in japan because we can t compete in the marketplace that argument needs to be taken away from american business gephardt said the administration has said it could not support a trade bill containing such a provision 
fed will buy bills for customer after auction the federal reserve said it will enter the u s government securities market after the est weekly bill auction to purchase around mln dlrs of treasury bills for customers a spokesman said he said the fed will purchase bills with maturities from may through september dealers said federal funds were trading at pct when the fed announced the operation reuter 
crude oil netbacks up in u s mediterranean crude oil netback values in complex refineries rose slightly in the u s and the mediterranean last friday from the previous week but were lower elsewhere according to calculations by reuters pipeline the soft tone to refining margins reflects large worldwide stocks of petroleum products and thin trading activity traders said in the u s gulf sweet crudes rose in value by as much as cts a barrel for west texas intermediate an increase of pct from the previous friday while sour crudes such as alaska north slope were up one pct in the mediterranean netback values were up cts to cts a barrel with arab light up cts a barrel to dlrs a pct increase from the previous friday and urals were up cts a barrel to dlrs a pct increase but netbacks for crude oil refined in northern europe was generally lower with brent valued at dlrs off cts from the previous friday and bonny light was off cts to dlrs a barrel refinery netbacks in singapore were also lower with heavier and sour crudes weakest arab heavy dropped cts to dlrs a barrel and dubai was off cts to dlrs on the u s west coast however netback values for ans cif l a were weaker with weak gasoline prices sending the yield at cracking plants down cts to dlrs from the previous friday as shown below in dlrs a barrel topping cracking the mediterranean region also showed netback values rising last friday over the previous week with the largest gains shown by es sider and the heavier urals crude oil which were each up cts a barrel last friday to dlrs and dlrs a barrel respectively netback values for the mediterranean region are shown below in dlrs a barrel grade mar mar feb es sider arab light iran lt kuwait urals cif netbacks in northern europe s refinery region were lower last friday from the previous week with brent falling pct to dlrs a barrel netbacks for other grades of oil refined in northern europe are shown below in dlrs a barrel mar mar feb brent bonny light arab light urals cif refinery netbacks in singapore were also lower with heavier and sour crudes weakest arab heavy dropped cts to dlrs a barrel and dubai was off cts to dlrs netbacks for other grades of oil refined in singapore are shown below in dlrs a barrel grade mar mar feb attaka arab light oman dubai arab heavy reuter 
lower refinery operations seen producing profits u s refiners will have to reduce operations if they want to be profitable this year said industry officials attending the national petroleum refiners association meeting here if the refining sector can discipline itself to refine about mln barrels of crude oil a day we have a chance to pull down inventories to acceptable levels by the second quarter said archie dunham executive vice president of petroluem products at conoco inc if not the industry will have a tough he added last week s american petroleum institute report said that u s refining capacity rose three pct to pct of capacity with crude oil runs at mln barrels per day for the week ended march the api said that with the higher crude oil runs distillate and gasoline inventories were sharply above year ago levels gasoline stocks were at mln barrels some mln barrels above year ago levels distillate stocks at mln barrels are mln barrels above last year s level the api said henry rosenberg chairman of crown central petroleum corp cnp told reuters that unless refining and marketing return to profitability oil companies will have to rely on downstream operations to produce an acceptable level of earnings the jump in refining capacity is a concern if it continues said kenneth buckler executive vice president of refining and marketing at total petroleum co a u s subsidiary of cie francaise des petroles of france refineries should operate near pct of capacity given the current level of demand but the operating level should increase as gasoline demand picks up in the next quarter buckler said dunham said the potential operable capacity of u s refineries should also be cut about barrels of crude per day i expect to see the shutdown of more small refineries over the next five years he said adding that these facilities refine between and barrels of crude oil per day the api said u s operations have the capacity to refine mln bpd of crude reuter 
venezuela wants to boost its refining capacity venezuela s state oil company petroleos de venezuela s a wants to raise its worldwide refining capacity by barrels of per day a company official attending the national petroleum refiners association meeting here said he declined to be identified but said pdvsa has the capacity to refine about bpd of crude oil from refining centers in venezuela sweden west germany belgium and the united states the company recently purchased a pct stake in the corpus christi texas refinery of champlin petroleum co a subsidiary of union pacific corp unp earlier it bought a similar stake in the lake charles la refinery owned by citgo petroleum corp a unit of southland corp slc according to the official venezuela is searching worldwide for the additional refining capacity but he did not mention where the company was looking refineries abroad he said guarantee a refining outlet for venezuelan crude oil while ensuring stability of supply to refiners he said venezuela currently produces about mln bpd of crude oil which is in line with its bpd opec ceiling reuter 
treasury balances at fed fell on march treasury balances at the federal reserve fell on march to billion dlrs from billion dlrs on the previous business day the treasury said in its latest budget statement balances in tax and loan note accounts fell to billion dlrs from billion dlrs on the same respective days the treasury s operating cash balance totaled billion dlrs on march compared with billion dlrs on march reuter 
u s trade official says japan action foolish a high level u s trade official said it would be foolish for japan to strike back against the united states for its sanctions on japanese semiconductor electronics products asked by reporters if japan was expected to retaliate against u s exports deputy under secretary of commerce bruce smart replied that would be the height of foolishness in addition he doubted japan could show enough progress in meeting the conditions of the agreement to avoid the actual imposition of the mln dlrs in tariffs on april japan s billion dlr trade surplus with the united states last year has come under fire in congress concerned about the loss of jobs to foreign competition and with the record billion dlrs u s trade deficit in president reagan s sanctions decision won praise today from the two democratic leaders of congress i think it s about time senate democratic leader robert byrd of west virginia told reporters house speaker jim wright of texas told reporters before the opening of the house session it just shows we were right all along when we said something needs doing smart testified before a senate labor committee hearing that last friday s u s trade action would help u s negotiations on access to japan for u s auto parts since last august smart has been leading talks to open up japan to purchases of more u s made automotive parts last year japan racked up a billion dlr trade surplus with the united states in these products both countries expect to conclude the talks by august it s amazing to me that the japanese were surprised i hope it will persuade them we re serious smart said of the white house trade sanctions the united states has tried to convince japanese car companies of the quality of american made parts and to draw them away from their traditional japanese suppliers all we ask is a chance we have a job to do persuading them we can do better than our reputation seems to be he said measured per car each american made car contained about dlrs in japanese auto parts while each japanese made car contained about dlrs in u s auto parts smart said reuter 
shell canada schedules annual refinery shutdown shell canada ltd pct owned by royal dutch shell group rd st scheduled its annual maintenance refinery shutdowns during the next two months company spokeswoman judy wish said wish said refineries will stockpile production before the shutdowns to maintain normal supply while maintenance is carried out production at shell s major refinery at strathcona alberta will be closed for about one month wish said there will be no layoffs associated with the refinery maintenance she added reuter 
u s credit markets end under extreme pressure the u s credit market ended under extreme pressure as the dollar s continued slide on the currency markets triggered an avalanche of u s securities sales pushing prices to lows dealers and analysts said this was a bloodbath said one money market economist we ve been trading in a state of total panic at times today said another mirroring the dollar s fall to a year low against the yen the key pct year treasury bond price fell nearly two points to close at compared with on friday the corresponding yield jumped to pct from reuter 
exxon xon sees synfuels role by year development of costly shale oil liquified coal and other kinds of synthetic fuels halted in recent years because of cheap and abundant petroleum supplies will become economic again when world oil prices top dlrs a barrel an exxon co usa executive said joe mcmillan a senior vice president told reuters after addressing a houston meeting of the american institute of chemical engineers by early in the next century synthetics should play a significant role in this country s energy supply mcmillan also told reporters at a news conference that he believed synthetic fuels would become economic to develop when world oil prices reached a to dlr a barrel price range you re talking about a pct increase in crude oil prices but i think that time is coming and we ve got to be prepared mcmillan said he predicted u s oil demand would rise by about one pct annually in the next few years while the nation fails to replace its oil reserves through exploration by the turn of the century world oil prices will be significantly higher because of declining supplies mcmillan said ashland oil inc chairman john hall who also spoke at the meeting advocated some form of federal tax incentives to help spur development of synthetic fuels the united states hall said has nearly billion tons of demonstrated coal reserves an amount more than triple that of all the world s known oil reserves we must encourage research now in order to make synfuels competitive later hall said the average lead time for development of a shale oil or liquified coal project is between five and ten years until last year the federal government had subsidized synfuels development through the u s synthetic fuels corp a research program created during the carter administration with the goal of developing replacements for up to two mln barrels of oil the corporation was shut down last april when congress refused to continue funding its eight billion dlr budget because of uneconomic projects based on forecasts of dlrs a barrel oil and dlr per mcf natural gas during this decade reuter 
u s should reassess mideast policy analyst the u s should reassess its mideast policy in light of its rising dependence on imported oil according to charles ebinger of the center for strategic and international studies the prospect of rising dependence on oil imports from the gulf and the recent revelations of the tower commission report mandate more than ever before the need for a fundamental reassessment of u s interests in the middle east ebinger said he remarks were made in an address to the national petroleum refiners association meeting although in the short run it is difficult to see a direct link between arab anger and threats to oil supplies in the current environment it will be increasingly difficult for moderate arab leaders to be seen as friendly to u s interests ebinger said oil traders said threats to oil supplies has kept crude oil prices strong recently although some believe prices will be weaker if demand falls in the spring but william randol analyst at first boston corp said crude oil prices will hold near current levels this spring there will be no spring downturn said randol speaking at the annual refiner meeting he said there is a pct chance that crude oil prices could move higher in the second half of the year following an opec meeting scheduled for late june he said he expects opec will extend its current agreement to restrict production opec will renew its production pricing agreement in june because the value of the oil exports of the opec producers has declined along with the u s dollar randol said opec oil exports are priced in u s dollars and the dollar has fallen about pct in the last months randol said u s crude oil imports will increase to four mln barrels per day by as consumption rises to two mln bpd and supplies decline two mln bpd reuter 
european community to set up office in peking china and the european community ec signed an agreement on the establishment of an ec office here chinese vice foreign minister zhou nan and the ec s external relations commissioner willy de clercq signed the accord ec sources said the office was likely to open in the second half of this year in the ec was china s third largest trading partner with chinese imports from the ec worth billion dlrs and exports worth billion dlrs de clercq told the official china daily that more joint ventures should be set up in china as a way of reducing china s trade deficit with the ec the ec s affairs in china are currently looked after by whichever country holds the group s six monthly rotating presidency now held by the belgians until the danes take over in july reuter 
trade friction threatens to topple nakasone prime minister yasuhiro nakasone may have been dealt a fatal political blow by the yen s renewed rapid rise and the threat of a trade war with the united states political analysts said nakasone already under fire over an unpopular tax reform plan may now be forced to resign before the june economic summit of seven industrialised nations if local elections later next month go against candidates from his ruling liberal democratic party ldp they said the close relationship between nakasone and president reagan was an important element of nakasone s power base waseda university political science professor mitsuru uchida told reuters so the emergence of u s criticism damages nakasone even before the latest trade friction flared nakasone was encountering criticism not only from opposition parties but also within his own ldp over his proposal to levy a sales tax many factions within the ldp are distancing themselves from nakasone uchida said his position within the ldp itself is not so strongly established today nakasone who has been more popular with the general public than with many ldp members is now seeing his public support eroded the analysts said the yen s rise to record highs and the u s threat on friday to impose tariffs on japanese electronics goods in retaliation for japan s alleged violation of a microchip trade pact are now giving nakasone s critics fresh ammunition the analysts said apparently the special relationship between reagan and nakasone hasn t worked effectively rei shiratori director of the institute for political studies in japan said this is making the japanese people doubt nakasone s credibility shiratori told reuters the cumulative impact of the sales tax issue the yen s rise and mounting trade friction could mean serious ldp losses in the april and local elections analysts said if the elections go against the ldp nakasone may have to resign early shiratori said but nakasone still has a chance to soothe u s tempers before or during his week long washington visit from april some analysts said however unless the japanese political system can move more quickly to give nakasone some nice present to take to washington on smouldering trade issues he will face a very hostile audience said merrill lynch securities economist william sterling if the trip is a major disaster it would seem to put the final nail in his coffin he said reagan s own weakened domestic position and growing republican as well as democratic anger with japan argue against a quick settlement to the trade dispute the analysts said but a desire on both sides to find some solution coupled with uncertainty at home and abroad over likely successors to nakasone could still lead to an attempt to paper over the differences and aid nakasone they said one factor against a trade war may be that washington is not anxious to push nakasone into his grave sterling said reuter 
u k money market offered early assistance the bank of england said it had invited an early round of bill offers from the discount houses after forecasting a very large shortage of around billion stg in the money market today more 
europe on sidelines in u s japan microchip row rising imports of japanese made cars and electronic goods may upset west european officials but they generally seem prepared to stay on the sidelines in the latest trade row between the united states and japan japan s huge trade surplus is a sore point in west europe as it is in the united states but u s charges of unfair trade practices involving computer microchips leave europeans cold the european community ran a billion dlr trade deficit with japan last year and seeks redress when it feels japanese trade policy hurts europeans diplomats and economists said but only in britain has there been any suggestion of acting with the u s to do something about japan s huge trade surplus the ec is no more illiberal on trade issues than is the u s said martin wolf director of studies at the trade policy research centre in london basically their policies are pretty much the same but that did not mean europe would support the u s or that the ec would climb on the bandwagon to take advantage of the u s dispute to press its own claims wolf said basically europeans have a different approach to trade problems he said in the u s people talk about fair trade but not here he added in the u s it all has to do with the general ethic of free competition while in europe the general approach is that liberal trade is good because it makes countries rich wolf said this basic u s attitude explains washington s tendency to impose so called countervailing duties an import tax designed to offset advantages alleged to be unfair in western europe the approach to trade disputes tends to be to try to reach a settlement through negotiation wolf said in the latest u s japan trade row president reagan has threatened to raise tariffs on selected japanese electronic goods by as much as mln dlrs alleging that japan has failed to abide by a u s japan pact on microchip trade but the european community has challenged the agreement as a violation of general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt practices that discriminates against its microchip producers it follows that they re not likely to rally to the side of the united states in defence of the agreement said wolf although british parliamentarians are pushing for a tough line on japanese trade issues government officials in the rest of europe told reuter correspondents they would let the ec take the lead in any response to the u s japan trade row a spokeswoman for the ec commission in brussels told reuters there has been no change in the community s position since a march meeting of foreign ministers which sent a strong warning to tokyo on trade imbalances in a statement issued after that meeting ec foreign ministers deplored japan s continued trade imbalance and appealed for a greater japanese effort to open up its markets ec external trade commissioner willy de clercq said after the talks there was a growing impatience with japan in the ec diplomats accredited to the ec in brussels said they saw no signs of any immediate intention to impose any broad ranging sanctions against japan the ec is anxious to avoid provoking a trade war they said instead the community is trying to target problem areas in european trade with japan including wines and spirits cosmetics and financial services and will continue talking to try to improve the situation the diplomats said in britain where the government is angered over the difficulties telecommunications giant cable and wireless has faced in its bid to crack the japanese market officials said last week that retaliatory action is being considered but government officials said last night we are not talking about days or weeks this is going to take time they said the government would consider its options at a cabinet meeting on thursday but added that no final decisions were expected the main thing the british would threaten the japan with is denial of access to london s booming financial markets government officials said reuter 
thatcher says trade targets set with moscow british prime minister margaret thatcher said she and soviet premier nikolai ryzhkov had set targets for increased trade between the two countries during talks earlier today she said she hoped more economic exchanges between britain and the soviet union will also lead to increased friendship and increased understanding earlier she told a meeting of soviet and british businessmen that she had agreed with ryzhkov that they would work to achieve a total volume of billion roubles in bilateral trade by this would entail an increase by each side of to mln stg over their present export levels mr ryzhkov handed me a list of import and export opportunities which i hope you will all jump at she told the meeting to mark the opening of new offices of the british soviet chamber of commerce after her talks with ryzhkov thatcher and the soviet premier were joined for the signing of agreements covering new scientific and cultural exchanges by kremlin leader mikhail gorbachev who had nine hours of talks with her yesterday reuter 
japan to cut microchip output boost imports leading domestic semiconductor makers will boost imports and cut production of key memory microchips from next month in line with government attempts to ward off u s trade sanctions company spokesmen said the moves might persuade the u s to call off the sanctions despite obstacles to full implementation of the plans analysts said the tariffs will affect about mln dlrs worth of products and are in retaliation for japan s alleged failure to honour a semiconductor trade pact in announcing the sanctions last friday president reagan said japan had not fulfilled its promise to halt predatory pricing and open japan s market to foreign products but u s trade representative clayton yeutter said yesterday on u s television that the u s is willing to drop the tariffs if japan shows a clear indication that it will open its markets to u s goods the ministry of international trade and industry miti has urged producers to slash output of the chips by pct in the second quarter following a call to reduce production by more than pct the previous quarter miti also urged makers to boost chip imports analysts said the moves could encourage washington to cancel the tariffs ahead of next month s meeting between prime minister yasuhiro nakasone and president reagan the u s wants to be satisfied it has rattled its sword and shown that it can and will do business said analyst nick edwards at jardine fleming securities ltd in tokyo but analysts cautioned that although japanese producers can cut output boosting imports the key to u s withdrawal of the sanctions is more difficult the u s does not have the low end consumer ic s integrated circuits that the japanese need for consumer products they re well supplied here said richard may senior analyst at barclays de zoete wedd ltd in tokyo the u s leads in production of medium and high end ic s but japanese makers are keen to develop their own high end production skills the analysts said the japanese must be prepared to trade some losses on semiconductors in return for free access to other areas said edwards a spokesman for hitachi ltd hit t said the firm s reduced output of kilobit dynamic random access memory k dram was unrelated to miti s efforts to ward off the trade sanctions decreased production was a natural result of the company increasing output of one mln bit dram s he said company officials unveiled the following plans nec corp nesi t japan s largest chipmaker plans to slash production of k dram semiconductors by pct to six mln per month from a monthly average of mln last quarter in the year beginning april nec will boost chip imports which comprised some pct of all nec chip consumption the year before hitachi ltd s hit t april output of k dram s will fall by pct to four mln compared to mln in march the company is trying to boost imports but has not set a specific target imports are currently very low toshiba corp tsba t will reduce april k dram production by pct to just over four mln and is considering ways to boost imports a company official said toshiba has an agreement with motorola inc mot n to sell the u s firm s chips in japan the firms are planning a joint venture production of memory chips in sendai northern japan mitsubishi electric corp miet t will trim second quarter output by about pct to between mln to mln chips compared to the first quarter plans call for increased imports but an official said boosting imports will be difficult as it depends on sales demand fujitsu ltd itsu t will cut production in accord with miti guidelines and boost imports from currently low levels oki electric industry co ltd okie t will reduce april production by pct from march s mln oki is studying ways to increase imports by pct in the fiscal year beginning april from the previous year s total of more than five billion yen a company official said reuter 
uk money market given further mln stg help the bank of england said it provided the market with a further mln stg assistance during the morning after revising its estimate of the liquidity shortage to billion stg before taking account of its early round of bill purchases initially the bank put the likely shortage at some billion and to help offset this gave early assistance of billion its total help so far today amounts to billion stg more 
correction march yugoslav trade falls in belgrade item of yesterday yugoslav trade falls in st qtr on year ago please read on page one this year current exchange rates were used for the first time instead of a fixed rate of dinars to the dollar corrects from reuter 
call money pressure from large german banks one or two large west german banks effectively drained the domestic money market of liquidity at the end of the month in order to achieve higher rates from their overnight deposits money dealers said as a result call money soared in active trading to around the lombard rate of five pct from pct yesterday as banks found themselves short of minimum reserve funds bundesbank figures showed that banks held an average daily billion marks in interest free minimum reserve assets at the central bank over the first days of the month though this was above the march requirement of billion actual holdings at the weekend were billion to meet the daily average dealers said banks must raise holdings by two billion marks to billion today and tomorrow but liquidity was tight in early business because banks excessively took up the bundesbank s offer for sale of treasury bills on friday this provides a rate of pct for three day deposits and is an effective floor to the market though some liquidity from bills bought on thursday flowed back into the market today the bulk would not return until tomorrow the start of the new month dealers said dealers said the large banks which they did not name commanded short term money requirements of as much as five billion marks or so with a knowledge of their own needs until the end of the month the banks bought excessive amounts of treasury bills draining liquidity for three days when other banks sought funds rates rose and large banks were able to place excess funds on deposit at a considerably higher average return one senior dealer said the bundesbank with advanced knowledge of the market s needs should have curtailed its sales of treasury bills on friday though dealers only late in the day learn of the total minimum reserve holdings of the previous day the bundesbank has an immediate overview of the situation and could anticipate the strength of demand for funds the following day he said bundesbank dealers could easily have said we are not selling any treasury bills or we re not selling them in this amount he said if the bundesbank wants to finely steer the market then they should avoid such excesses tomorrow it will be different call money will fall back to pct or so but the bundesbank would not approve of the sharp jump in rates given the delicate state of currency markets international central banks have been at pains to prevent a dollar fall against major currencies including the mark dealers said a rise in call money gives the mark a firmer undertone contributing to downward pressure on the dollar the whole tender policy is to have a call money of between three and four pct in that case the excesses as we have today cannot be very popular the senior dealer said dealers said the large banks probably achieved average rates of return on their excess funds of between pct or four pct this is a higher return than they would have earned without the excessive draining through the treasury bill mechanism because of the currency situation and the wage negotiations between germany s major employers and the unions the bundesbank would be very unlikely to make any changes to monetary policy at its council meeting on thursday they said bundesbank figures showed that banks fell back on the lombard emergency funding facility to draw down billion marks yesterday as rates began to tighten in late business reuter 
u k money market shortage forecast revised up the bank of england said it had revised its estimate of the deficit in the money market today up to a record two billion stg before taking account of its morning operations from billion at midday the bank has provided the system with around billion stg assistance so far today reuter 
japan will ask companies to boost imports japan s minister of international trade and industry hajime tamura will meet representatives from of the nation s largest companies next week and appeal to them to do their best to increase imports ministry officials said the meeting was unveiled as part of a plan to boost imports and help head off protectionist legislation in the u s senior officials from the ministry of international trade and industry told reporters that such personal appeals appeared to have paid off in the past as japanese imports of manufactured goods have climbed leading domestic semiconductor makers will boost imports and cut production of key memory microchips next month in an attempt to help ward off u s trade sanctions company spokesmen said the officials also said they expect the government s new trade insurance law to boost imports and encourage japanese companies to set up production facilities overseas under the new law the government will insure japanese companies who pre pay for imports against loss arising from everything from war to bankruptcy of the foreign firm they are dealing with miti estimated that it would help solve japan s trade problem to the tune of about billion dlrs a year reuter 
u k money market given mln stg late help the bank of england said it had provided the money market with late assistance of around mln stg this takes the bank s total help today to some billion stg and compares with its forecast of a two billion stg shortage in the system today reuter 
u s japan trade war not in uk s interest lawson u k chancellor of the exchequer nigel lawson said the united states and japan must work to avert a possible trade war and he added that a trade war would not be in the interests of britain lawson told journalists that the prospects for the u k economy look very very good providing we can avoid a trade war he stressed that a heavy responsiblity in different ways lies on japan and the united states to ensure that we do avoid such a trade war asked whether he believed such a trade war could be averted lawson replied i very much hope so britain last week warned that it would retaliate if japan did not move soon to open its markets to outside competition prime minister margaret thatcher gave notice that the u k would fight the japanese government s attempt to prevent cable and wireless plc cawl l from taking a significant position in a new japanese international telecommunications venture but british officials are now trying to dampen anti japanese rhetoric to try to keep developments under control the british conservative government will on thursday consider what legal options are available to it to try to increase u k access to japanese markets officials said reuter 
u s treasury s baker sees rate stability treasury secretary james baker said the agreement among the industrial countries reached in paris last month should foster stability of exchange rates at around current levels in testimony before the house appropriations committee baker outlined many of the measures taken designed to achieve more balanced growth and a reduction of trade imbalances during the paris meeting these measures should also foster greater stability of exchange rates around current levels he said baker reiterated that the ministers at the paris meeting agreed that their currencies were within ranges broadly consistent with underlying economic fundamentals and that further substantial exchange rate shifts could damage growth and adjustment prospects he added in these circumstances we agreed to cooperate closely to foster stability of exchange rates around current levels reuter 
ec approves mediterranean financial packages ec ministers have approved financial packages for several mediterranean states totalling billion european currency units an ec official said the packages part of special ec trade agreements with tunisia egypt lebanon israel algeria morocco and jordan until include mln ecus in grants he said they include one billion ecus in loans from the european investment bank the ec long term financing arm the framework for the transfers was signed yesterday by ec farm ministers after being agreed in principle by foreign ministers earlier reuter 
treasury s baker says cooperation working treasury secretary james baker said that the agreement in paris to cooperate in exchange rate changes showed that the process of coordination agreed to at the tokyo summit was working he told the house appropriations committee the meeting demonstrated that the process is working he noted that the industrial surplus countries committed themselves to strengthen their growth prospects while the deficit countries agreed to reduce their domestic imbalances baker said that for its part japan announced a cut in its discount rate to pct and committed itself to prepare a comprehensive economic program to stimulate domestic demand after the diet completes action on the current budget he said the united states must also do its share pressing for reductions in the federal budget deficit through spending cuts and we must continue to oppose protectionist pressures he added reuter 
soviet union seen watching china gatt application china s application to join the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt is seen as a test case by the soviet union which will probably demand to follow china a top european community official said willy de clercq external relations commissioner of the european communities told a news conference that china s application would involve long and difficult negotiations china formally applied to join gatt in july and in february presented a memorandum backing its application which de clercq said was now being studied questions would then be presented to china after china other important state trading countries including the soviet union will probably demand accession china s application could be considered a test case he said he said the ec strongly backed china s application but others among gatt s contracting parties took a tougher line among the numerous problems of a huge centrally run economy entering a free trade system are tariffs and reciprocity and the expectation that china will practice an open trade policy without trade discrimination de clercq added de clercq noted the different dimensions of the chinese economy and those of hungary and yugoslavia the two current socialist gatt members on china s import potential he said a foreign exchange shortage would force china to import less this year and next than in the past with an emphasis on technological equipment and capital during his visit de clercq has met top chinese leaders and today signed an agreement to open a european community commission office in peking reuter 
u s senate leaders see no trade war brewing the senate s democratic and republican leaders praised president reagan for retaliating against japan for violating a semiconducter accord but dashed cold water on ideas it was the first shot in a trade war senate democratic leader robert byrd and republican leader bob dole both told the senate reagan s decision was long overdue and urged japan to open its markets to u s goods and stop dumping on world markets each noted in separate speeches that they saw no trade war over the issue despite concerns in financial markets that fear has no basis in fact byrd said reuter 
yeutter says stock market overreacted to japan trade dispute 
u s stock market overreacts to tariffs yeutter u s trade representative clayton yeutter said the stock market overreacted to a u s decision last week to proceed with tariffs on some japanese computer products speaking to reporters prior to testifying at a house agriculture committee hearing yeutter said it is difficult to comprehend that a trade decision affecting only mln dlrs in goods caused the stock market collapse yesterday i have a hunch a lot of other things were involved in that stock market fall including simple profit taking yeutter said yeutter said japan would be sending a senior official from its trade ministry to washington next week for talks on the computer chip dispute we will be glad to have him here but that s not going to affect a decision that s already been made yeutter said the decision announced last week would apply higher tariffs on a range of japanese products in retaliation for the alleged failure of tokyo to honor an agreement with the u s on semiconductor trade reuter 
envoy advises nakasone to prepare for u s visit the japanese ambassador to the u s suggested that prime minister yasuhiro nakasone make efforts to present advanced proposals on trade issues when he visits washington next month ambassador nobuo matsunaga made the recommendation at a meeting with nakasone kyodo news service said matsunaga also advised that the prime minister should be prepared to discuss u s japan economic issues matsunaga cited issues such as a u s japan micro chip trade pact foreign access to the kansai international airport project and a new international telecommunications firm matsunaga returned on sunday to report to japanese leaders on recent u s developments over trade in preparation for nakasone s visit to washington april to may kyodo quoted nakasone as telling reporters after meeting the envoy i entirely accept what ambassador matsunaga recommended nakasone did not elaborate the u s japan trade dispute intensified last week when president ronald reagan said the u s would impose heavy tariffs on japanese imports in retaliation against alleged japanese breach of the computer chip trade pact meanwhile nakasone s ruling liberal democratic party ldp is to consider measures to boost imports and open up the japanese market such as government purchase of supercomputers and expanding foreign access to the kansai airport project party sources said the ldp international economic affairs council was responding to nakasone s request for measures to reduce japan s increasing trade surpluses with the u s and europe they said reuter 
chevron chv nippon oil form joint venture chevron corp said its chevron u s a inc unit and tokyo based nippon oil co ltd agreed to conduct a joint venture oil exploration and development program on selected chevron leaseholds in the united states about onshore and offshore exploratory wells will be drilled under the agreement and chevron will be the operator of the project and pay some costs the company said it said nippon will contribute an initial investment of more than mln dlrs the japanese government will also participate in the venture by providing financing to nippon through the japanese oil corp chevron said it said drilling will begin during the second quarter properties to be evaluated are located in california colorado kansas oklahoma mississippi montana north dakota texas utah and wyoming along with federal outer continental shelf leases offshore southern california and in the gulf of mexico chevron said reuter 
treasury s baker says u s remains prepared to foster exchange rate stability 
treasury s baker sees billion dlr u s trade deficit reduction this year 
treasury s baker says reagan unlikely to alter opposition to oil import fee 
treasury s baker says u s backs stability treasury secretary james baker said the united states and the five other industrialized nations signing the recent paris accord remain committed to fostering the exchange rate at around current levels but he declined to comment on what he believed to be an appropriate level of the dollar in world markets i m not going to comment on that because invariably the exchange markets read either more or less into my remarks than i might intend he said in response to a question from the house appropriations committee baker said the six nations participating in the paris meeting in february had acknowledged that the currencies are within ranges that are broadly consistent with the economic fundamentals and we and the others as well remain prepared to cooperate closely to foster stability in exchange rates around those levels reuter 
treasury s baker sees reagan opposing oil tax treasury secretary james baker told the house appropriations committee that he believes the president remains opposed to an oil import fee he said reagan last year rejected the idea and he added in my personal view he is not likely to change his thinking on that he said reagan last year opposed the idea because the energy industry was divided on the issue a tax would require a new bureacracy to administer and the resulting higher energy prices would harm u s competitiveness reuter 
treasury s baker sees smaller trade deficit treasury secretary james baker predicted the u s trade deficit would decline billion dlrs this year however he acknowledged signs were still lacking on such a decline we think we are beginning to see changes he told the house appropriations committee it has begun to level off but we don t see it beginning to go down yet he told the panel reuter 
bangemann calls for currency calm west german economics minister martin bangemann urged a halt to the talking down of the dollar by both official and private institutions in the u s saying calm was needed on the foreign exchanges speaking at the opening of the th hanover industry fair bangemann said radical changes in foreign exchange parities had left their mark on exports and investments he added that without these external difficulties west germany s economy would have grown by pct last year instead of the pct reported bangemann said he could not deny that the economic climate in west germany had cooled but he stressed the country was not in a downtrend the minister also criticised state subsidies which he said mainly favoured large companies and created a tax burden for smaller and medium sized firms bangemann referred specifically to subsidies in the steel industry which he said had to be fought with all legal means when they did not correspond to european community guidelines on grants he added that in light of the declining demand for steel capacities had to be adjusted saying the bonn government would not successfully be able to stand in the way of any change in this industry bangemann also spoke out against protectionism and called for more competition citing as an example the federal post office the post office enjoys a monopoly in west germany especially as far as deciding who is able to provide telecommunications equipment reuter 
treasury s baker pursuing s asian revaluations treasury secretary james baker told the house appropriations committee the united states is still pressing newly industrialized south asian nations that have tied their currencies to the dollar to let those currencies strengthen against the dollar we have seen some strengthening of those currencies but not as much as we would like he said we have been somewhat disappointed in the results so far but we intend to continue these discussions he said reuter 
u s officials defend oil reserve sale plan treasury secretary james baker and office of management and budget chief james miller defended an administration plan to sell the u s naval petroleum reserves in response to hostile questioning from a member of the house appropriations committee the officials said the plan was justified to help bring the fiscal budget deficit and to get the government out of the oil business miller acknowleged the estimated sale proceeds at billion dlrs would actually bring down the deficit by about billion dlrs because of the loss of revenues from the sale of oil from the reserves miller said the sale price may end up higher we d sell it to the highest bidder miller said if we can get more we ll take it reuter 
treasury s baker not concerned by bond declines treasury secretary james baker asked whether he was concerned about yesterdays precipitous decline in bond prices said he was not questioned by reporters as he left a house committee hearing baker said no when asked about the bond decline adding that it was a reflection of concern about the possibility of a trade war it is what the markets think would be the adverse consequences of a trade war he said the administration was concerned that protectionism would lead to international trade problems adding that he thought the action against the japanese was still consistent with this policy reuter 
u s japan not in trade war yeutter says the united states and japan are not involved in a trade war despite u s sanctions announced last week against japanese semiconductors u s trade representative clayton yeutter said in my judgement we re not even close to a trade war yeutter told a house agriculture committee hearing yeutter said if japan takes action to honor its agreement with the u s on semiconductor trade then the retaliatory response will last a relatively short period yeutter said japan must stop dumping chips in third countries and buy more american computer chips reuter 
chirac reagan discuss arms control trade french prime minister jacques chirac opened talks with president ronald reagan expected to focus on superpower arms control moves and trade issues french officials said a major aim of chirac s visit was to present france s concern that the united states might ignore european security interests in any accord with moscow on removing medium range nuclear missiles from the continent but reagan was expected to assure chirac that he will not agree to a deal at the geneva superpower talks that would give the russians superiority in shorter range systems diplomats said france has expressed doubts about removing u s missiles from europe so long as the soviet union maintains an edge in other weaponry particularly shorter range rockets conventional forces and chemical weapons speaking last night chirac set out the french position saying any agreement on intermediate nuclear forces should mention how equality can be achieved in short range missiles reagan and chirac meanwhile signed an agreement ending a dispute between two leading research institutes over patent rights to a blood screening test for the deadly disease aids in a joint statement chirac and reagan said the pasteur institute in paris and the national cancer institute of bethesda maryland agreed to give part of the royalties from the test to a new foundation dedicated to the wordwide fight against aids acquired immune deficiency syndrome this agreement opens a new era in franco american cooperation allowing france and the united states to join their efforts to control this terrible disease in the hopes of speeding the development of an aids vaccine and cure reagan said at the signing ceremony he said the two parties would share the patent and give per cent of the royalties received to the new foundation the foundation would also raise private funds and would donate per cent of its money to combat aids in less developed countries both leaders stressed the long ties between france and the united states during a welcoming ceremony in the white house east room with reagan describing france as america s oldest ally in war and peace i have come to tell you that we are remain motivated by the same ideals of freedom by the same will to face the dangers which we both confront terrorism war hunger poverty new diseases and drugs chirac replied but the two countries are likely to have less to agree on over the issue of trade where chirac is worried about a rise in protectionism in the u s congress a senior u s official yesterday dismissed a french idea to sell cut price grain to poor countries in africa as a way of lessening surplus stocks chirac is expected to canvass support for the idea first proposed by french agriculture minister francois guillaume during his two day visit to washington the u s official described the idea as a grain producers opec a reference to the organization of petroleum exporting countries and said it went against the reagan administration s desire to lessen government intervention in trade reuter 
reagan renews anti protectionism stand white house says trade war unlikely 
trade war fears may prompt stock markets downturn the threatened trade war between the united states and japan is just the kind of shock that economists say could send world stock markets into a tailspin but they are not so sure if that would be a brief corrective dip or whether this week s falling share prices mark the start of a bear market it s the billion dollar question said richard o brien economist at american express international bank in london japan s trade surplus billion dlrs last year has poured into share and bond markets around the world and funded a good chunk of the huge u s budget deficit around a third of any new sale of u s treasury bonds has been bought by the japanese however japanese investors have lost money as the dollar falls and will lose more if the united states lets it fall further to cut the trade deficit the counterpart of improving the trade deficit either through a lower dollar or because the u s increases duties on japanese electronic goods may be to hit the capital inflow which has financed the budget deficit and if the u s trade deficit does fall the japanese will have less money to invest to entice u s investors to fill the gap that would be left if the japanese stopped buying u s bonds interest rates would have to soar o brien said the subsequent shift from shares to bonds could cause major falls on the world stock markets a year ago we could be pretty confident about the markets said o brien now it is much less certain buoyant share prices are supposed to reflect a booming economy but the world economy with sluggish growth at best in the industrial nations a massive load of third world debt and huge trade imbalances is not in good shape said o brien nevertheless new york analyst william raferty of smith barney harris upham said we re still in a bull market adding that corrections are a normal part of a rising market and the bear usually strikes slowly economist evelyn brody at morgan grenfell and co in london said the huge sums of money going through the world financial system will keep a floor under share and bond prices although interest by the japanese in putting their money in non dollar denominated bonds and stocks has increased it s very difficult to see where else they can put their money than in u s dollars and especially the u s treasury bond market according to david butcher a senior executive at yamaichi securities co ltd s bond operation in london he said the japanese are paying much closer attention now to the french franc and west german mark in the longer run he worries about what trade tensions and the dollar s slide will mean for securities markets reuter 
white house discounts threat of trade war president reagan has reaffirmed his opposition to protectionism and his chief spokesman said trade sanctions imposed on japan were unlikely to start a trade war we don t want to go down that road reagan was quoted as telling prime minister jacques chirac after the visiting french official expressed concern about the rising tide of protectionist sentiment in the united states later white house spokesman marlin fitzwater defended the new sanctions against japan and said administration officials do not believe this will result in a trade war it is the first time that the united states has taken an action of this type and it is significant but it is nothing to be alarmed about the presidential spokesman added we do not want protectionism we do not want a trade war he said fitzwater said the president was forced to act in the japanese microchip case because tokyo had failed to fulfill an agreement to make some corrections noting that there are enormous pressures in the congress and the land for the united states to take a tough stand he said this was a case where we felt we simply had to act fitzwater said the decision to impose sanctions was well considered by this administration and not taken lightly while the white house official held open the possibility that washington and tokyo will settle their trade dispute he indicated a settlement probably would not come in time to head off the sanctions we are always open to negotations whether it a settlement could occur in time to prevent this the sanctions from going into effect is questionable at this point the spokesman said the sanctions take effect in mid april reuter 
treasury s baker pursuing s asian revaluations treasury secretary james baker told the house appropriations committee the united states is still pressing newly industrialized south asian nations that have tied their currencies to the dollar to let those currencies strengthen against the u s currency we have seen some strengthening of those currencies but not as much as we would like he said we have been somewhat disappointed in the results so far but we intend to continue these discussions he said reuter 
baldrige says u s to go ahead with japanese sanctions 
baldrige says u s to impose japanese sanctions commerce secretary malcolm baldrige said the united states would go ahead with planned mln dlr sanctions against japanese semiconductor exports despite any u s japanese talks to avert the trade curbs he said in a speech to an export import group that he was sure the united states and japan could work out their dispute over unfair japanese trade practices in semiconductor trade but i am sure the sanctions will go in before we work it out sanctions are to be imposed on april he also said he did not think there would be a trade war with japan because japan had too much value in exports to the united states to risk such a war those fears are unfounded he said he told reporters later that the sharp drop in the securities market was not due to fears of a trade war but fear of inflation and that the federal reserve may act on that fact market reaction was also due he said to the drop in the value of the dollar although trade issues did have some effect baldrige said that observers who were attributing the drop in the market to trade sanctions were barking up the wrong tree he said the market observers will realize this shortly baldrige said his remarks did not mean to suggest anything about the market or the exchange rate of the dollar reuter 
senior u s official to visit japan as trade row grows undersecretary of state michael armacost will visit tokyo next week for meetings with high level officials that will include discussions of a growing trade row over japanese semiconductor electronics products he is the first high level u s official to visit japan since president reagan announced last week plans to impose tariffs worth up to mln dls on japanese electronic goods on april in retaliation for tokyo s alleged failure to live up to a pact on microchip trade signed last september the trip is set for april the state department said reuter 
union pacific unp closes venezuelan partnership union pacific corp said it has closed the previously announced partnership with petroleos de venezuela sa venezuela s national oil company to own a barrel per day refinery in corpus christi texas union pacific said the partnership called champlin refining co will acquire the refining and distribution system owned and operated by union pacific s champlin petroleum co subsidiary the venezuelan company also signed a year feedstock agreement with the partnership to supply at least barrels a day of venezuelan crude oil and naphtha at market related prices reuter 
broader u s eep sought by republican lawmakers republican members of the house agriculture committee said they will propose amendments tomorrow to a pending trade bill increasing funding for the export enhancement program eep and significantly expanding the scope of the program at a press conference republican lawmakers said they would propose expanding eep to include all countries willing to purchase additional commodities at reasonable prices in addition the congressmen said they would propose extending the life of eep to five years from the current three years and increasing the eep funding ceiling to billion dlrs from billion at present the agriculture committee tomorrow will begin drafting amendments to an omnibus trade bill now before the house responding to the republican plan agriculture secretary richard lyng and trade representative clayton yeutter said they favor a flexible targeted use of eep instead of an across the board program which they termed too costly the republican congressmen also said they will offer an amendment to the trade bill instructing the u s agriculture department to value the bonus commodities used for eep at the market value rather than the cost of acquisition but lyng said usda already plans to change to market value accounting rather than acquisition value in order to avoid hitting a funding ceiling for eep of billion dlrs lyng said under market value accounting only about mln dlrs of eep commodities have been used to date using acquisition value usda officials said the value is higher reuter 
u s official to visit japan as trade row grows undersecretary of state michael armacost will visit tokyo next week for meetings with high level officials that will include talks on the growing trade row over japanese semiconductor electronics products he is the first high level u s official to visit japan since president reagan announced last week plans to impose tariffs worth up to mln dlrs on japanese electronic goods on april in retaliation for tokyo s alleged failure to live up to a pact on microchip trade signed last september deputy state department spokeswoman phyllis oakley said the trip is set for april to u s japanese talks of this kind are regularly held each year at this time she told reporters the armacost discussions with deputy foreign minister ryohei murata and other senior japanese officials will focus on u s japanese foreign aid programs and political security issues of mutual concern she added although an exchange of views on bilateral relations is expected the talks are not directly related to u s japanese trade relations she insisted but in response to questions oakley acknowledged that trade will be discussed japan s billion dlrs trade surplus with the united states last year has come under fire in congress which is concerned about the loss of jobs to foreign competition and with the record billion dlrs u s trade deficit in reuter 
correction senior u s official in washington story headlined senior u s official to visit japan as trade row grows please read in nd graf tariffs worth up to mln dlrs correcting amount reuter 
imperial oil imo a in talks with suppliers imperial oil ltd pct owned by exxon corp xon is negotiating with it major crude oil suppliers concerning the effects of a trial deregulation of alberta s shut in crude oil production scheduled to be implemented on june a company spokesman said from our point of view it s a question of entering into negotiations or discussions to make appropriate changes to contracts to reflect the changes that are going to take place on june spokesman john cote told reuters in reply to a query commenting on published reports that imperial had suspended its oil supply contracts cote said it s not a question of cancelling or suspending any of the agreements at this point on june alberta s energy resources conservation board will lift its crude oil marketing prorationing system regulating shut in light and medium crude production on a trial basis to the end of under the new system producers and refiners will be allowed to negotiate volumes of shut in oil to be delivered under purchase contracts shut in crude is the surplus between the total amount of oil being produced and the amount being purchased by refiners we have talked to a number of our major suppliers and we ve discussed the upcoming change with them but nothing has been finalized imperial s manager of western crude supply gary strong said under alberta s trial system imperial wants to match a reasonable supply of crude against the company s forecast demand for its refineries strong said we have to know what they have and how that relates to what we need in total he said strong said figures on the amount of crude production imperial purchases from outside suppliers were not immediately available reuter 
u s official sees evidence of export growth beryl sprinkel chairman of the white house council of economic advisers said he sees growing but incomplete evidence that u s export volumes are finally strengthening in remarks prepared for a speech today in los angeles sprinkel said the decline in the dollar s value since had largely restored u s cost competitiveness in world markets and appeared to signal an end to u s trade imbalances i am confident that further improvements in our trade performance will contribute significantly to u s growth in he said reuter 
oil prices said now based on futures price energy futures now set the standard for oil pricing said arnold safer president of the energy futures group inc a consulting firm petroleum futures trading at the new york mercantile exchange literally set spot market prices in the u s he said adding that some oil products sellers now offer contracts based on a daily average of nymex prices he also said that petroleum futures are a major market for oil companies as well as for commodity traders his remarks were made at the national petroleum refiners association reuter 
standard oil raises alaska north slope by dlrs effective april one 
currency futures climb likely to be checked the surge in currency futures since friday on the heels of the reagan administration s proposed tariffs on japanese imports is likely to be curtailed in the coming week financial analysts said the market is taking a breather now and i would expect it to last a little longer said craig sloane a currency analyst with smith barney harris upham and co profit taking which robbed the currency futures of some momentum today is likely to continue he said central banks are likely to play a role in halting the advance in currencies through intervention the analysts said even though the dollar fell to a year low against the japanese yen on monday despite bank of japan intervention treasury secretary james baker s comments that the g nations remain committed to the paris accord coupled with his refusal to give any targets for exchange rates provided a note of stability to the market tuesday the analysts said furthermore merrill lynch economics analyst david horner said g central banks haven t yet shown the full force of their commitment to the paris accord i m among those who believe the g have a plan behind the scenes horner said horner said more forceful central bank intervention will firm the dollar and cap the rise in currency futures coordinated punishing intervention by the central banks in contrast to the recent rolling intervention which has only smoothed out the market is in the offing according to horner i think we re near the top of the range in the europeans currencies he said on the other hand the upside target for the yen which set a new contract high today at in the june contract is at horner said still other analysts believe currency futures have yet to peak the basic trend in the currencies is higher said anne parker mills currency analyst with shearson lehman brothers inc the market wants to take the dollar lower uncertainty over central bank action and nervousness over a g meeting next week in advance of a meeting of the international monetary fund could make for choppy price activity the remainder of the week mills said in addition although the market shrugged off relatively healthy gains in february u s leading economic indicators and factory orders tuesday economic data could play a larger role in coming sessions the analysts said friday s employment statistics in particular will be closely watched sloane said adding that a forecast rise of in non farm payroll jobs should underpin the dollar reuter 
u s fed explores commodity basket index the complex task of wielding control over monetary policy in an increasingly fast moving global economy could be aided by tying policy to commodity prices the newest member of the federal reserve board says commodity prices are already considered by the fed in the making of monetary policy but they would be given a much greater role under an idea being floated by governor robert heller who joined the board last august he conceeds that much more study of the idea is needed but argues that such an arrangement particularly if it were adopted by other major industrial countries could reduce the volatility of exchange rates moreover it could help stabilize of the prices of commodities themselves slowing changes in inflation his idea which many conservative economists find appealing has some backing among board members appointed in recent years by president reagan it would complement the present system of opening or closing the monetary screws based on the pattern of inflation key indicators such as unemployment and the rise or fall of the money supply changes in the money supply can lead to changes in interest rates and affect economic activity directly discussed on and off for a long time the commodity concept is part of a growing search for a system that anchors monetary policy and widely fluxtuating currency prices to a more solid base what is needed is an anchor or reference point that can serve as a guide for both domestic and international monetary purposes says heller in the past this anchor was gold but the united states went off the gold standard because the global economy had vastly outstripped gold supplies a return to the gold standard is generally dismissed out of hand by most policymakers on the grounds that the largest producers of gold are the soviet union and south africa the so called fixed rate system scuttled in the early s is still considered unworkable in the present world but the current system of floating currencies in which currencies can fluxtuate widely adding vast pressures to the monetary system is also being widely questioned some have suggested that the system might benefit from a formal approach that mandates intervention by countries when currencies wander above or below agreed to levels but there are major problems with this also for one thing there is justifiable concern that countries might be relunctant to intervene if they felt it might be detrimental to their own domestic economy moreover some question whether concerted intervention can make much of an inpact if the overall market does not agree with the fundamental judgement the poorest countries have called for a monetary conference to work out a new system that not surprisingly helps them cope with their overpowering debt problems treasury secretary james baker the reagan administration s chief economic architect has preferred to use the so called group of five industrial countries or sometimes seven as a forum to work out cooperative agreements on currency and other economic matters he appears convinced that officials from west germany france britain japan italy and canada talking quietly behind closed doors can reached reasoned decisions away from public posturing the heller approach while extremely complex could have a profound impact on the system ideally stabalizing prices and international exchange rates as envisioned by heller a basket of say major commodities ranging from wheat to oil would be put together and prices would be measured on a regular basis in times of rising commodity prices monetary policy might be tightened and in times of falling commodity prices montary policy might be eased he says he notes that commodity prices are traded daily in auction markets and a commodity price index can be calculated on a virtually continuous basis moreover most commodity prices are produced consumed and traded on a world wide basis so that an index has a relevance for the entire world he says in addition commodity prices are at the beginning of the production chain and serve as an imput into virtually all production processes focusing on commodity prices as an early and sensitive indicator of current and perhaps also future prices pressures the monetary authorities may take such an index into account in making their monetary policy decisions he says however he says that any major change in a basic commodity such as occurred in oil during the s because of action by the opec cartel would have to be discounted in such a system he says the worst thing that could happen is to allow monetary policy to spread a freakish increase in one commodity to the rest of the system and to other commodities reuter 
taiwan s second quarter imports seen rising taiwan s imports in the second quarter of are expected to rise to billion u s dlrs from billion a year earlier and from billion in the first quarter of this year the statistics department said a department official attributed the increase to growing domestic investment by the private and public sectors it is expected to rise to billion u s dlrs from billion a year earlier and billion during the first quarter taiwan s exports in the april june quarter are expected to rise to billion u s dlrs from billion a year earlier and billion in the first quarter the official said taiwan s trade surplus is expected to climb to billion u s dlrs in the second quarter of from billion a year earlier it was billion in the first quarter of this year most of the surplus is expected to come from trade with the u s taiwan s largest trading partner and importer of nearly pct of taiwan s total exports he said he said he expected taiwan s imports including grains machinery and power plant equipment from the u s to rise sharply because of government efforts to balance trade with washington he declined to give figures reuter 
u k money market offered early assistance the bank of england said it had invited an early round of bill offers from the discount houses after forecasting a shortage of around billion stg in the money market today among the main factors affecting liquidity bills for repurchase by the market will drain some mln stg while bills maturing in official hands and the take up of treasury bills will remove around billion stg a rise in note circulation will take out a further mln stg partly offsetting these outflows exchequer transactions will add around billion stg and bankers balances above target some mln stg reuter 
u k money market given mln stg early help the bank of england said it had provided the money market with early assistance of mln stg in response to an early round of bill offers from the discount houses this compares with the bank s estimate that the system would face a shortage of around billion stg today the central bank made outright purchases of bank bills comprising mln stg in band one at pct mln stg in band two at pct and mln stg in band three at pct reuter 
u k money market shortage forecast revised up the bank of england said it had revised its estimate of the shortage in the money market up to billion stg from billion before taking account of its early operations the bank has provided mln stg assistance so far today reuter 
u k money market deficit revised downwards the bank of england said it has revised its estimate of today s shortfall to around billion stg from billion before taking account of mln stg morning assistance reuter 
fed buying one billion dlrs of bills for customer account fed says 
fed buys one billion dlrs of bills for customer the federal reserve is buying one billion dlrs of treasury bills for customer account for delivery today a spokesman for the bank said fed funds were trading at pct at the time of the purchase which came several hours before the fed normally transacts business for its customers economists said the purchase was almost certainly related to the investment of proceeds from recent central bank intervention in the foreign exchanges the bank of japan alone is estimated to have bought about six billion dlrs in march in a bid to prop up the dollar reuter 
fed says it buys mln dlrs of bills for customer may through sept maturity 
mobil raises west coast crude prices between one dlr and dlrs bbl today 
mobil mob raises west coast crude postings mobil corp said it raised its west coast crude postings effective today the buena vista light grade at degrees api gravity was raised dlrs a barrel to dlrs bbl while the huntington beach light grade at degrees was raised about dlrs bbl to dlrs bbl the heavier wilmington grade at degrees was increased dlrs to dlrs bbl kern river crude at degrees was increased dlr to dlrs bbl mobil also said that effective today it changed its gravity adjustment scale as follows from degrees to degrees api mobil will adjust its price of a ct per one tenth of an api degree below degrees api the company will adjust its price ct per one tenth of a degree crude grades from degrees api to above degrees are unaffected reuter 
u k money market deficit forecast at mln stg the bank of england said it forecast a shortage of around mln stg in the money market today among the main factors affecting liquidity bills for repurchase by the market will drain some mln stg while bills maturing in official hands and the take up of treasury bills will take out around mln stg and a rise in note circulation some mln stg partly offsetting these outflows exchequer transactions and bankers balances above target will add some mln stg and mln stg to the system respectively reuter 
japan u s will be at odds while trade lopsided japan is doing all it can to solve its trade problems with the united states but the two nations will remain at odds as long as the trade account is lopsided in japan s favour a senior official said so long as there is an external imbalance there will be trade friction and harsh words between the two governments the foreign ministry official told reporters last year japan racked up a billion dlr surplus with the united states and economists said they do not see it falling significantly any time soon washington announced plans last week to slap up to mln dlrs in tariffs on japanese electronic goods raising the spectre of a trade war between the two countries we take the current situation very seriously said the official who declined to be identified the basic stance of the japanese government is to tackle the issues with all available resources the united states has accused japan of reneging on an agreement that called on it to stop selling cut price computer microchips in world markets and to try to import more american semiconductors tokyo has denied the charges the foreign ministry official refused to rule out japanese retaliation if america went ahead with its threatened tariffs in the middle of this month but he said that any response would be in accordance with international law and japan s international obligations he added that both japan and the united states must take account of the impact of their dispute on their own and the world economy reuter 
japan warns of anti u s sentiment in trade row japan is sending a three man team to washington to try to halt threatened trade sanctions that officials warn could spark a wave of anti u s sentiment here the team will lay the groundwork for high level emergency talks next week aimed at defusing an increasingly bitter row over trade in computer microchips officials said the sanctions are against the free trade system ministry of international trade and industry miti director general noboru hatakeyama told reporters adding if these measures are taken the atmosphere in japan against the united states would become not so good as before other officials were more blunt the u s action will have a significant impact on the growing anti u s feeling here another miti official said a senior foreign ministry official who declined to be identified told reuters the u s threats have undercut those in the government who argue for conciliation there is a very strong argument in japan that since the united states is imposing tariffs unilaterally why should we bother doing anything he said anything we do we will be bashed the senior official sounded pessimistic about the likelihood of prime minister yasuhiro nakasone defusing u s anger over japanese trade practices when he visits washington on april i don t think trade friction will be solved all of a sudden by the visit he said nakasone is widely expected to present a package of measures to president reagan to help contain u s frustration over japan s large trade surplus but the senior official played down those expectations reuter 
japan u s will be at odds while trade lopsided japan is doing all it can to solve its trade problems with the united states but the two nations will remain at odds as long as the trade account is lopsided in japan s favour a senior official said so long as there is an external imbalance there will be trade friction and harsh words between the two governments the foreign ministry official told reporters last year japan racked up a billion dlr surplus with the united states and economists said they do not see it falling significantly any time soon washington announced plans last week to slap up to mln dlrs in tariffs on japanese electronic goods raising the spectre of a trade war between the two countries we take the current situation very seriously said the official who declined to be identified the basic stance of the japanese government is to tackle the issues with all available resources the united states has accused japan of reneging on an agreement that called on it to stop selling cut price computer microchips in world markets and to try to import more american semiconductors tokyo has denied the charges the foreign ministry official refused to rule out japanese retaliation if america went ahead with its threatened tariffs in the middle of this month but he said that any response would be in accordance with international law and japan s international obligations he added that both japan and the united states must take account of the impact of their dispute on their own and the world economy reuter 
np energy npeeq says trustee appointed np energy corp said the u s bankruptcy court has indicated it will appoint a trustee to oversee the company s chapter bankruptcy proceedings it said it hopes the appointment will thwart hostile actions being pursued by two unsecured creditors to whose claims the company objects np further said the nielsen well in duchesne county utah has tested barrels of oil per day np owns a pct working interest reuter 
u k money market given mln stg late help the bank of england said it had provided the money market with around mln stg late assistance this takes the bank s total help today to some mln stg and compares with its estimate of a mln stg shortage reuter 
yeutter says u s should stress trade negotiations as long term u s trade policy 
yeutter stresses importance of trade talks u s trade representative clayton yeutter stressed the importance of trade negotiations to open foreign markets rather than trade restrictions in a statement to the senate finance committee in the long term we cannot repeatedly bludgeon other nations into opening their markets with threats of u s restrictions rather we must be able to negotiate credibly for global liberalization yeutter said yeutter did not mention the recent u s trade sanctions against japanese semiconductors in his testimony on the pending trade bill yeutter said the trade bill should increase u s competitiveness aid u s trade negotiating leverage and avoid provoking foreign retaliation he urged congress to reject provisions that would mandate u s retaliation against foreign unfair trade practices yeutter emphasized the importance of the new multilateral trade negotiating round and called on congress to quickly approve an extension of u s negotiating authority we want to open foreign markets and establish and enforce rules of international competition not foster dependence on protection and subsidies he said reuter 
ec must explain farm policy to u s france says the u s and the european community could enter into a new trade dispute unless urgent action is taken to explain ec farm policy to the u s congress french official sources said they said prime minister jacques chirac planned to urge ec commission president jacques delors to send a team of experts to washington as soon as possible chirac returned to paris this morning after three days of talks in new york and washington in which trade and protectionism featured prominently at the centre of the new trade tension is an ec commission proposal to tax vegetable oils the sources said reuter 
swedish prime minister s china visit boosts trade an big expansion in bilateral trade is expected as a result of swedish prime minister ingvar carlsson s visit to china a official of china s foreign economic relations and trade ministry official said he told the china daily that petroleum coal cotton non ferrous metals and electric engines could help balance the trade running at over three to one in sweden s favour total trade reached mln dlrs last year up pct on according to chinese statistics swedish sources said major paper mill projects and an aviation agreement would be discussed during carlsson s one week visit reuter 
closure of bp sweden refinery forecast a swedish finance ministry committee forecast that british petroleum plc bp l may have to close its refinery in gothenburg because of an anticipated worsening of the swedish petroleum industry s competitiveness it said in a report that the future of the swedish refining business was bleak due to the steady drop in domestic oil consumption since the mid s a possible tightening of rules on sulphur content and competition from norway s mongstad facility of den norske stats olieselskab statoil stat ol when its expansion is completed in the s the committee said the bp refinery which lacks a de sulphurisation plant was likely to be closed or sold unless costly investments were made to enhance the facility s capacity to refine a broader range of products but the committee noted that capacity utilisation had in recent years been above that of the european refining industry on average the bp plant in which sweden s state owned ok petroleum ab has a pct started up in and has an annual capacity of mln tonnes there was nobody at british petroleum immediately available for comment 
u k money market deficit revised upward the bank of england said it has revised its estimate of today s shortfall to mln stg from mln reuter 
stoltenberg says paris accord policy to continue west german finance minister gerhard stoltenberg said the currency agreement reached in paris in february had been successful and would be continued stoltenberg told journalists before he attends next week s international monetary fund meeting in washington that the strategy to stabilise currencies around current levels has proven its worth and will also determine future developments stoltenberg declined to comment specifically on what he would consider to be an undervalued dollar but said a dollar around marks created problems for west germany s exports stoltenberg said studies by international organisations had made it clear that especially in the u s and in japan major efforts remained necessary to support adjustments in foreign trade balances via necessary corrections to economic policy no one would benefit if after years of over valuation the u s dollar fell into the other extreme that is strong under valuation he said stoltenberg said west germany had a keen interest in a swift agreement between the u s and japan concerning the current trade dispute over semi conductors asked whether he believed the markets would test the paris currency accord stoltenberg did not comment specifically but noted that much of what had been discussed in paris had not been published the paris declaration did not state the levels at which central banks of the major industrialised countries would intervene stoltenberg said that everything had been carefully considered he said he had nothing further to add stoltenberg also appeared to suggest that west germany was now no longer under any pressure from the u s government to stimulate its economy he declined to respond specifically to a question on this subject but said you must attach particular importance to the consensus which was reached in paris the minister nevertheless added that he would make clear during his trip to washington that west germany s nominal trade figures gave a false impression about actual trade flows stoltenberg noted that in bonn s exports fell by a nominal two pct while its nominal imports fell by pct west germany s imports dropped largely because of foreign currency developments and the cheaper price of oil and led to a record trade surplus last year however stoltenberg said that in real terms west germany s exports by volume had increased by pct while real imports had risen by a much stronger pct in this way west germany had made its contribution to economic stability stoltenberg added stoltenberg noted the government expected imports to rise by a real four to five pct in with exports stagnating he said it was too early to revise official forecasts for west germany s economic growth this year the government has forecast an unchanged pct rise in gross national product the kiel institute a leading research body is still expecting growth of three pct but some other research institutes have revised forecasts down to below two pct stoltenberg said the wide range of predictions showed how many imponderables had to be taken into account and said no drastic changes in official forecasts were needed reuter 
norsk hydro saga seek drilling rights in gabon norwegian oil companies norsk hydro a s nhy ol and saga petroleum a s sago ol said they have applied for offshore exploration drilling licenses in gabon on africa s west coast saga petroleum said it has applied for a pct share and operatorship on one block adding finnish oil company neste neoy he pct spain s hispanoil pct and the world bank s international finance corporation ifs pct have joined saga to fill remaining shares in the application saga spokesman roy halvorsen told reuters he expected gabonese officials would reply to the application by easter halvorsen said this is the first time saga has applied to operate on opec member gabon s continental shelf adding that italian oil company agip is heading a group of applicants in a separate bid for the same license norsk hydro has also applied for an undisclosed share in a single exploration license in which u s oil company tenneco has already been assigned operatorship company spokesman bjoern tretvoll said reuter 
u s treasury policies said unchanged by departure the departure of james baker s closest aide deputy treasury secretary richard darman will not change the course of washington s domestic and international economic policies u s officials said darman who has worked alongside baker for six years was widely credited with helping him mastermind initiatives on currency management and international economic cooperation u s officials said darman also played a key role in shepherding president reagan s sweeping tax reform plan through the u s congress but they flatly dismissed suggestions that his departure to the investment banking firm of shearson lehman brothers signaled the baker team was breaking up or that the treasury secretary himself might leave soon it really does not mean that he took the opportunity as it came up one official said another commented baker will miss him but he s not going to stand in his way there has been widespread speculation since last autumn that darman sought a wall street job officials said darman felt the passage of tax reform late last year marked an appropriate moment to bow out baker acknowledged darman would be sorely missed dick darman has contributed mightily to the success of this administration over the past six years and his departure represents a substantial loss he said u s officials admitted darman s absence would be an undoubted blow to baker who has relied on him for policy advice both at the white house and in reagan s second term at the treasury one aide once described darman as indispensable to baker baker is widely thought to want a more stable currency system and darman is generally credited by officials of other nations as baker s leading theorist on this issue favouring target zones to limit currency fluctuations earlier this year monetary sources said the u s treasury unsuccessfully sounded out allies on a target zone system but a u s official disputed the assessment that with darman gone baker would abandon international initiatives baker s work as head of reagan s economic policy council spearheading trade policy and his skills in negotiating with the democrat controlled congress will go on as before darman s strength was not as an economist but as a political strategist and that s baker s strength too the official said there were already indications that baker who throughout his time in government has relied on a closely knit circle of advisers has moved swiftly to find a successor one possibility is that baker might turn to george gould who holds the number three treasury position of under secretary gould another close confidante has known baker for years before joining the treasury in november gould was a partner at the wall steet firm of wertheim and co and formerly headed donaldson lufkin and jenrette securities corp the darman announcement came on the eve of the semi annual meetings of the international monetary fund and the world bank where many policies darman helped shape will be debated he helped baker devise the september plaza agreement when the united states japan west germany france and britain curbed the dollar s strength the pact was a major turning point in u s policy ending a period of disdain for economic cooperation and intervention in currency markets darman also worked on some other baker initiatives like the tokyo summit agreement to intensify coordination of economic policies among the leading industrial countries and the recent paris agreement to stabilise currencies and stimulate global growth these policies are collectively aimed at redressing the huge gap between japan and west germany s trade surpluses and the united state s massive trade deficit that policy goal still remains a prime objective of the reagan administration and will not change with darman s departure reuter 
ec ministers will discuss strengthening ems float european community finance ministers and central bankers meet in belgium this weekend to discuss strengthening europe s joint currency float amid continuing worries about turbulence on foreign exchanges belgian finance minister mark eyskens who will host the informal talks told reuters the ministers and central bank chiefs would discuss the situation on currency markets in the light of the february agreement among leading industrialised countries to stabilise exchange rates around present levels in an interview eyskens said he felt the paris accord between the united states japan west germany france britain and canada had proved itself more or less workable but doubts over its effectiveness and durability have been growing since fears of a trade war between the united states and japan over computer microchips pushed the dollar to a record low against the surging yen early this week the talks at the belgian resort of knokke are being held to coordinate the ec s positions on monetary issues and third world debt ahead of the spring meetings of the international monetary fund and world bank in washington next week the ec gathering begins tonight with a dinner but the main discussions will take place tomorrow continued international currency turbulence could undermine plans for reinforcing the european monetary system the joint float holding eight ec currencies within narrow fluctuation bands which will feature high on the weekend agenda eyskens has repeatedly said that europe needs a period of calm on world currency markets and in particular a more stable dollar before it can set about strengthening the ems to make it more resilient against exchange rate swings the ems has been taking a battering over the last year as the falling dollar has sent funds surging into the dominant ems currency the west german mark forcing ministers to undertake two major realignments of parities within nine months in the interview eyskens made clear he was hoping for a wide ranging discussion on the future of the eight year old ems on the basis of proposals for bolstering it drawn up by the ec s monetary committee and the committee of central bank governors the committees were asked to come up with the proposals after the last reshuffle of ems exchange rates in january eyskens repeated calls for the european currency unit the fledgling ec currency at the core of the system to take over the mark s dominant role in the ems a proposal that has met with a cool response in west germany he said ec commission president jacques delors would report to the meeting on problems raised by plans to liberalise capital movements fully within the nation bloc by such as the need for harmonising taxes and banking controls eyskens said liberalisation of capital movements without strengthening the ems would be an element of destabilisation in the community he said the crucial issue in the debate was whether member states were willing to push further towards the ec s goal of monetary integration on the basis of an ems that included management of exchange rates by some kind of common institution instead of by national central banks as at present plans for the creation of such an institution foreseen by the ems s founding fathers have been thwarted by the reluctance of some countries notably west germany to gove up their sovereignty in the monetary field ems development has also been held up by britain s refusal so far to join the system s core exchange rate mechanism reuter 
stoltenberg says paris accord policy to continue west german finance minister gerhard stoltenberg said the currency agreement reached in paris in february had been successful and would be continued stoltenberg told journalists before he attends next week s international monetary fund meeting in washington that the strategy to stabilise currencies around current levels has proven its worth and will also determine future developments stoltenberg declined to comment specifically on what he would consider to be an undervalued dollar but said a dollar around marks created problems for west germany s exports he said studies by international organisations had made it clear that especially in the u s and in japan major efforts remained necessary to support adjustments in foreign trade balances via necessary corrections to economic policy no one would benefit if after years of over valuation the u s dollar fell into the other extreme that is strong under valuation he said stoltenberg said west germany had a keen interest in a swift agreement between the u s and japan concerning the current trade dispute over semi conductors asked whether he believed the markets would test the paris currency accord stoltenberg did not comment specifically but noted that much of what had been discussed in paris had not been published the paris declaration did not state the levels at which central banks of the major industrialised countries would intervene stoltenberg said that everything had been carefully considered he said he had nothing further to add reuter 
imf world bank to meet amid new inflation fears amid new concerns about inflation interest rate increases and trade confrontations finance ministers and central bankers meet next week to discuss a deteriorating global debt and economic situation the meetings under the auspices of the international monetary fund and world bank come as interest rates are turning higher and the already weak dollar has sunk further upsetting bond and stock markets uncertainty is growing about the vitality of the global economy and whether the heavily indebted countries can continue to carry the burden of their growing debt without vast new assistance monetary and diplomatic sources said there are no signs any new debt initiative of the sort that treasury secretary james baker unveiled months ago in seoul is in the works the strategy has drawn a serious challenge from brazil which suspended interest payments on billion dlrs of commercial bank debt last month the banks have responded by laying the groundwork for writing down brazilian loans separately french prime minister jacques chirac in a visit earlier this week with president reagan sounded out the administration on a plan to funnel worldwide grain surpluses to the very poorest states the french plan is certain to be discussed by the ministers in detail during next week s meetings and will undoubtedly be embraced by the developing countries there s interest on the part of some countries for looking at the support of the special problems of the very poorest countries because their position is so extreme a reagan administration official said he suggested washington was open to disussing the issue the meetings will also assess the success of the baker debt initiative which called for new funding to help debtor countries grow out of their problems the largest industrial countries have been attempting to coordinate economic policy in the hope of controlling the decline of the dollar u s trade and budget deficits and other problems at the same time the industrial countries see little evidence of a strengthening of economic activity and the fund forecasts they will grow pct the united states sees pct growth for itself continuing its expansion for a fifth year and has asked other industrial countries to stimulate their economies these issues directly affect the debt problem and the ability of the debtor countries to grow out of their difficulties in recent years u s markets have absorbed the exports of developing country allowing them to earn critical foreign exchange but the united states wants to cut its trade deficit running at a record billion dlrs and is pressing others to import more from developing countries the discussions from april six to will be wide ranging touching everything from interest rates to the impact of development loans on the environment according to monetary sources the talks will include an examination of trade protectionist pressures in the wake of a decision by the reagan administration to place some mln dlrs in tariffs on microchip products from japan the sources said the move accelerated the dollar s decline as financial markets grew alarmed that trade war was in the offing there is concern that the action prompted by u s charges that japan has been selling computer chip products below fair market value and has kept its own market closed to imports further undermining the international trading system at the same time the ministers will discuss the fundamental price weakness in basic commodities the export mainstay of many developing countries the so called group of five industrial countries the united states japan west germany france and britain will gather for the first time since their february talks in paris where they agreed to keep the dollar from sliding further the five will be joined later by italy and canada for further debate on economic policy coordination as part of the paris accord surplus countries such as japan agreed to stimulate their economies while america said it would reduce its federal budget deficit other major issues of the meetings include a u s bid to to have a larger say in approving loans of the inter american development bank strengthening the link between loans and economic policy changes in debtor nations washington is also pressing the world bank to take more account of the environment when making loan for dams and other projects the new head of the bank barber conable has said this issue is being reviewed and will be part of a reorganization plan for the bank now being prepared reuter 
bp says no plans to close swedish refinery the british petroleum co plc bp l said it had no plans to close its refinery in gothenburg despite forecasts by a swedish finance ministry committee that it might be planning such a move the committee said the refinery s future looked bleak because the swedish petroleum industry s competitiveness was expected to worsen unless it invested and because of the effects of a possible tightening of rules on sulphur content but bp said the unit in which sweden s ok petroleum ab has a pct stake had performed well both technically and financially up to and including the first quarter of current restrictions on sulphur emissions and known future plans for both sweden and export markets did not cause it any serious problems it said in a statement the refinery started up in and has an annual capacity of mln tonnes reuter 
u s japanese open talks on semiconductors u s and japanese officials meet tomorrow to try to settle a dispute over semiconductor trade and to cut short the mln dlr penalty tariffs president reagan has ordered imposed on japanese exports but u s officials held out little hope that any accord could be reached before the tariffs of per cent up from about five per cent are to take effect on april the customs bureau last week started to levy a bond on the japanese goods that reagan ordered penalized the penalties would be retroactive to march reagan said on march when ordering the tariffs that he hoped the japanese would soon end their unfair practices in semiconductor trade and that sanctions could be lifted technical meetings are to be held today and tomorrow with meetings at a more senior level scheduled for thursday and friday public hearings on the sanctions are set for april the japanese aides here for the technical talks include shigeru muraoka director general of international trade policy of the ministry of international trade and industry miti and masashi yamamoto deputy director general of the information and machinery bureau meeting with them will glen fukushima director of the japan office of the u s trade representative s office and jim gradoville of trade representative s office of industry and services the two sides in the thursday and friday talks will be headed by deputy u s trade representative michael smith and miti vice minister makoto kuroda reuter 
uk minister looks to ease tension with japan the u k government hopes for a breakthrough on the deadlock with japan over trade policies during next week s visit to tokyo by corporate affairs minister michael howard political sources said howard who leaves for japan tomorrow told reuters he will try to promote understanding on trade issues during his visit meanwhile britain will re examine a letter from japanese prime minister yasuhiro nakasone promising personal help in solving the row over a u k firm s bid to win a significant role in japan s telecommunications market government sources said tensions have risen following britain s decision to arm itself early with new statutory powers which it says could be used against certain japanese financial institutions britain reacted optimistically at first to the letter from nakasone to prime minister margaret thatcher seeing it as a signal that he would work towards ensuring a satisfactory outcome to the bid launched by cable and wireless plc government officials said but this view has since been clouded by reports from tokyo that nakasone s assurances really constituted little more than politeness in the face of british anger they added reuter 
conable warns protectionism might spread world bank president barber conable expressed concern that trade protectionism at the heart of a new showdown between the united states and japan might spread throughout the industrial world but in an interview with reuters conable said the action by the united states to slap tariffs on certain electronic goods from japan did not mean the countries were heading for a full scale trade war conable said the world bank has been pressing developing countries to open their markets arguing that a free trading environment increased the possibility of global economic growth we have in fact been making adjustment loans to many countries in the developing world which have encouraged the opening of their markets and we want to be sure that the developed world doesn t close at the same time he said he said the u s action against japan was a significant retaliatory step but it did not constitute a basic change in trade policy the interview came just before next week s semi annual meetings of the bank and the international monetary fund referring to brazil s recent interest payments moratorium conable also said the global debt situation was very serious and must be closely watched he said the bank which in the past has concentrated on making loans that assist the basic underpinnings in the developing world such as dams roads and sewers will increasingly make assistance available for economic reform the bank has increased these loans in part because of the debt crisis that has found countries desperately in need of new funds for balance of payments adjustment and economic reforms aimed at opening their markets encouraging foreign investment and reducing government s role in the economy we re comfortable with adjustment lending we expect however that it will never reach a majority of our portfolio conable said he made clear however that adjustment lending would continue to increase as a proportion of overall bank lending for some time he noted the problem of debt was a severe one and many countries are asking for adjustment assistance because of the problem of debt conable is a a former republican congressman from new york chosen by president reagan for the bank position last year he is an associate of treasury secertary james baker who launched the u s strategy for shoring up indebted nations in october which included a call for increased adjustment lending by the world bank conable also said that he expected the result of a major study of the bank s organization to be completed in the next several weeks he said the decision to seek a reorganization was based in part on the fact that the bank had come under fire from the poorest countries for not doing enough to help and from the richest countries because of inefficiency the reorganization is considered a major initiative by conable and is being closely watched by the agency s member countries as an indication of his management style and priorities i want to be sure this institution is viewed by those who must support it as soundly constituted so that it will be permitted to grow conable said however he said i don t believe there is anything basically wrong with this institution and i don t believe it has to have any redefinition of its purpose he said however that it was apparent that the debt initiative proposed by baker has given the bank a central role in dealing with the debt crisis conable added that cooperation between the bank and its sister agency the international monetary fund was good and that he talked often with imf managing director michel camdessus on a variety of issues on a personal level conable said that he not feel a need to put his personal stamp on the bank noting that i don t have a particular mission here except to be useful to the institution and to the process of development he added so i don t feel a great calling to personalize the institution on the development needs of sub sahara africa conable said that the bank was constantly reviewing new ways for assisting the region noting that half of the recently agreed financing of billion dlrs for bank s international development association was earmarked for africa leading industrial nations are expected to consider new forms of debt relief for the very poorest nations like those in the sub sahara during next week s meetings reuter 
u s jobs data said to rule out fed tightening a steep drop in goods producing jobs detracted from u s march non farm payroll employment and makes it unlikely that the federal reserve will tighten monetary policy to defend the dollar economists said u s march non farm payroll employment rose less than the gain of to the financial markets expected manufacturing employment fell compared with february s gain while march construction employment dropped after being unchanged in february the momentum of industrial activity is tapering off as we end the first quarter said stephen roach of morgan stanley and co inc this sets the stage for more sluggish growth in the second and third quarters the fed will view this as a caution flag on the economy he said they will not ease as long the dollar is weak but clearly they can t tighten david wyss of data resources inc said that the downward revision in february non farm payroll employment to from means that employment gains in the first quarter were weaker than expected while wyss left his first quarter forecast of real u s gross national product growth at pct he said the march jobs data suggested a downward revision in his second quarter growth forecast to pct from pct bill sullivan of dean witter reynolds inc said the average monthly gain in non farm jobs in the first quarter was only compared with in the fourth quarter of there s momentum in first quarter labor force activity but less than assumed he said gains in goods producing jobs were subdued at best this rules out any possibilty of the fed tightening for exchange related purposes in march the average workweek fell back to its january level of hours from hours in february manufacturing hours also fell back to their january level totalling hours in march compared with hours in february the commerce department noted that loss of manufacturing jobs in march was concentrated in automobile electrical and electronic manufacturing robert brusca of nikko securities international said that a decline in auto manufacturing employment accounted for nearly half of the total drop in manufacturing jobs economists said that a build up in auto inventories resulting from a steep drop in sales has finally caught up with the labor force and may point to slower growth ahead most expect an increase in inventories of as much as five pct to offset a steep four to five pct drop in final sales in the first quarter gnp accounts roach said he expects first quarter u s gnp to rise two pct to be followed by a gain of pct at best in the second and third quarters he said the march drop in industrial activity is a reasonable response in light of the inordinate contribution inventory accumulation made to gnp economists said the employment data also suggest weak gains in industrial production and personal income for march they expect only marginal gains if not small declines for these indicators compared with a february increases of pct in industrial production and pct in personal income steve slifer of lehman government securities said the drop in march construction employment may also signal a drop in march housing starts which rose pct in february to million units at an annual rate from million units in january the rate of unemployment fell to pct its lowest level since march from pct in february but wyss pointed out that this resulted from a drop in the labor force which fell to mln in march from mln in february this just means that there were fewer people looking for work so the drop in unemployment doesn t mean much he said he said the latest employment report will not concern the fed because it does points to gnp growth in the first half of pct but it does suggest they can t afford to tighten to quickly either the statistical factors used to smooth out seasonal fluctuations in the jobs data may have understated march labor force gains just as seasonal factors probably overstated them in january and february slifer said but are consistent with his forecast of pct first quarter gnp growth economic growth remains sluggish but silfer does not think that the federal open market committee changed policy at their meeting this week at some point they will be more inclined to ease he said for the time being however the march employment report increases the likelihood they won t tighten regardless of the dollar reuter 
brazil to buy bpd of kuwaiti oil brazil will import barrels per day of crude oil from kuwait a spokesman for the state oil company petrobras said he said that unlike saudi arabia kuwait did not impose any conditions on brazil last month petrobras cancelled a mln dlr oil purchase from saudi arabia after the saudis refused to accept credit guarantees from the official bank of brazil the saudis eventually lifted the condition and brazil decided to reconfirm the purchase brazil currently consumes mln barrels of oil per day reuter 
canada oil industry set for recovery analysts firmer crude oil prices government aid packages and corporate spending cuts will help canada s oil industry recover from last year sharp downturn industry analysts said they said there will be significant earnings gains in compared to last year s dismal results when oil prices dropped about pct on canada s stock exchanges energy shares have soared to their highest levels since with many issues trading at record highs this is reflecting a tremendous amount of optimism on the part of the investment community that the outlook for the industry for the future is extremely attractive peters and co ltd oil analyst wilf gobert said financial statements from canada s major oil companies culminating with dome petroleum ltd s billion canadian dlr loss reported this week painted a bleak picture of last year s results analysts said but the financial statements are a snap shot and a recording of history the stock market is the indication of the future gobert commented the toronto stock exchange s oil and gas index of companies is up to so far in trading today from at the end of among canada s largest oil companies class a shares of imperial oil ltd imo a pct owned by exxon corp xon is trading at up from a week low of shell canada ltd pct owned by royal dutch shell group is at up from a low during the last year of texaco canada inc txc pct owned by texaco inc tx is at up from a low of levesque beaubien inc oil analyst robert plexman forecasts operating profit for of canada s largest oil and gas companies will rise pct in to about billion dlrs and operating cash flow will increase pct to billion dlrs based on an average oil price for the year of u s dlrs a barrel however if prices hold about u s dlrs a barrel net operating income could show a pct increase with cash flow pct higher analyst plexman said although it is difficult to forecast the extent of the profit improvement this year the gain should be significant he added those improvements follow a sharp downturn in when operating income for the ten companies dropped pct to billion dlrs and operating cash flow fell pct to billion dlrs but one industry source doesn t think oil prices will hold recent gains and more government assistance is needed canadian petroleum association technical director hans maciej sees industry cash flow falling another pct in after dipping about pct last year maciej said he sees crude oil supply outweighing demand and doesn t believe a recent opec production accord will continue to support prices however several companies share the optimistic industry outlook expressed by a majority of analysts shell canada and norcen energy resources ltd forecast improved earnings in their annual reports issued this week assuming oil prices remain at or above levels the industry s outlook for is positive but not robust texaco canada said in its annual report while oil prices have strengthened somewhat and there is good reason to believe that the general level is sustainable continued volatility is likely texaco canada added in the face of short term uncertainty many companies have pared spending plans from last year s lower levels deferring most frontier exploration work the industry is becoming very selective in investments very conservative and cautious which is not unexpected canadian petroleum association s maciej said federal and alberta goverment aid measures helped cushion the industry downturn in and are improving results the most significant help came last september when the federal government lifted the pct petroleum gas revenue tax pgrt months earlier then planned analysts estimate the tax relief will save larger oil companies about billion dlrs by the end of the pgrt cut helped brake the steep profit and cash flow decline in for many oil companies and prevented further exploration spending cuts analysts said for a number of companies the pgrt cut was absolutely necessary to even maintain the kind of reduced investments that were made otherwise the reduction would have been considerably more maciej said reuter 
petrobras sees raising export of fuel in brazil s state oil company petrobras is pledging to export mln cubic meters of fuel or mln barrels in a company spokesman said he said that represents a total sale worth mln dlrs the volume is pct higher over sales which totalled mln cubic meters or mln barrels the united states africa and latin american are brazil s main fuel buyers the spokesman said reuter 
colombia s main oil pipeline attacked state run oil company ecopetrol said colombia s main oil pipeline was bombed again and pumping of barrels per day was suspended a spokeswoman for the company said that the early morning dynamite attack was the st in the last nine months on the cano limon covenas pipeline which links colombia s biggest oilfied at cravo norte to the caribbean she said about barrels of crude were spilled and could not indicate when pumping would resume the attack was near magangue in northeastern bolivar province ecopetrol is exploiting cravo norte in association with occidental petroleum corp oxy and shell petroleum n v a unit of the royal dutch shell group rd st ecopetrol said in a communique that bombings since last july led to a loss of more than barrels of crude or the equivalent of mln dlrs reuter 
brazil makes second amazon oil discovery the brazilian state oil company petrobras has made a second oil discovery in the amazon region president jose sarney said he said the well had an initial flow of cubic meters of gas and barrels of oil per day it is situated kilometres from the first well to be discovered in the region last year which is currently yielding cubic meters of gas and barrels of oil daily the wells the biggest onshore well in the country are on the banks of the river uruc in the amazon basin kilometres miles north of brasilia reuter 
lawson says u k election not only ems bar british chancellor of the exchequer nigel lawson said the next u k election was not the only element standing in the way of full british membership of the european monetary system ems but he added that arguments against joining had weakened prime minister margaret thatcher widely believed to be the strongest government opponent of full ems membership has made clear she does not expect to consider joining until after the next uk election due by mid at the latest but lawson in answer to a question told reporters after an informal european community finance ministers meeting here that other factors apart from the upcoming election stood in the way of full membership in addition to the question of the exchange rates at which britain should enter the ems s core exchange rate mechanism there was also the impact of sterling membership on the system to be considered he said british entry would change the ems from a monopolar system based on the west german mark to a bipolar mark sterling system he noted we have to make sure it would work but lawson added that some of the considerations that had made it difficult for britain to join in the past now posed less of a problem as an example he cited sterling s role as a petrocurrency which he said was diminishing that argument has clearly weakened he said lawson restated that the government was keeping the question of membership under review reuter 
ec agrees on need to strengthen ems european community ec finance ministers and central bankers agreed on the need for greater cooperation to strengthen the european monetary system ems against international market turbulence officials said there was a general will to reinforce the european monetary system with all that implies belgian finance minister mark eyskens said yesterday after hosting a one day session of informal talks at this belgian coastal resort the gathering was the first such discussion since the second major realignment of ems parities within nine months in january the system has come under severe strain as funds have flowed out of the slumping dollar and into the dominant ems currency the west german mark sending it soaring against weaker currencies in the system but eyskens said february s agreement between leading western industrialised nations to stabilise exchange rates at around current levels was working and this would allow the ec to speed up its efforts to boost the internal stability of the ems he told a news conference yesterday s meeting agreed on the need for closer coordination among ems member governments of interest rate policies and of interest rate differentials between different countries they also agreed they needed better coordination of exchange market intervention to hold currencies stable both when they reached their fixed ems limits and within their agreed margins but eyskens said this coordination raised a whole range of technical problems and ministers would discuss these further in luxembourg in june on the basis of proposals from the ec s monetary committee and committee of central bank governors he said the ec needed a set of indicators of economic convergence betwen community countries and it was important that interest rates fulfilled this role together with exchange rates and inflation rates the belgian minister whose country presently holds the presidency of the community made clear the meeting had not produced any agreement to move radically forward in developing the ems towards the ec s long term goal of economic and monetary integration we have committed ourselves to reestablishing the normal functioning of the system eyskens said eyskens has repeatedly stressed that he believes the ems has to be reinforced if the ec s plans to liberalise all movements of capital across national borders by are to go ahead ec executive commission president jacques delors told the meeting the authority would put forward proposals for a final phase of capital market liberalisation in october that would include safeguard clauses for member countries for which the move would create difficulties eyskens said the ministers and central bankers also discussed the need to dedramatise realignments of ems parities by letting high ranking monetary officials carry them out by telephone rather than calling a meeting of finance ministers however west german sources said bonn finance minister gerhard stoltenberg was unenthusiastic about the idea british chancellor of the exchequer nigel lawson told journalists that one of the technical issues raised by greater coordination of exchange market intervention was the question of which currencies should be used to intervene and held in central bank reserves he said several ems member countries believed the ems would work better if central banks held each other s currencies an issue of particular importance regarding west germany since the bundesbank holds only dollars in its foreign exchange reserves he said the debate on dedramatising ems realignments reflected a general feeling among participants that the way the january reshuffle had been conducted was unsatisfactory the realignment was marked by acrimony between france and west germany with each side blaming the other for strains in the system that forced the parity overhaul reuter 
zambian currency falls at foreign exchange auction the zambian currency further depreciated yesterday at the second auction since the introduction of a two tier foreign exchange system last month the central bank of zambia said the kwacha was pegged at to the dollar compared to last week s rate of to the dollar the bank which offered six mln dlrs at the auction reported demand for mln dlrs at the previous auction the government offered eight mln dlrs last month the government set a fixed exchange rate of nine kwacha per dollar subject to adjustment against a basket of five currencies for certain official transactions it also introduced a new weekly foreign exchange auction only for parastatal organisations and the private sector where the exchange rate is allowed to float in accordance with market demand the new auction system is designed to be more restrictive than the previous one suspended in january after the central bank fell weeks in arrears to successful bidders under the new system no bidder except the the state oil company zimoil and the national airline zambia airways is allowed to bid for more than five pct of the foreign exchange on offer reuter 
iea sees one pct growth in oecd oil demand growth in oil consumption in the western industrialised countries is likely to slow to around one pct this year compared with pct in the international energy agency iea said oil use in the countries of the oecd increased by around one pct in first quarter to mln bpd the iea said in its monthly oil market report growth in oecd countries is expected to come primarily from transport fuels as in but if average consumer prices are higher than the rate of growth for these fuels may be below last year s pct it said the iea said that assuming crude oil and product prices stay close to current levels some destocking by end users can be expected if that happens natural gas will also regain some of the market share it lost to heavy fuel in and there may be slightly less growth in transport fuels iea estimates on april put oil stocks in the oecd area at mln tonnes representing days of forward consumption this is about the same level as at the begining of the year the agency said this flat trend is explained by the projected seasonal consumption decline in the second quarter of the year which offset a reduction in stocks it said initial estimates indicate that company stocks fell by mln bpd in oecd countries in the first quarter of the year this followed a small rise in january of mln bpd but a decline of mln bpd in february and mln bpd in march it is possible that final data will show a larger draw particulary for march it said as crude production also fell there is likely to have also been a decline in non reported stocks particularly at sea the iea said company stocks on land in the oecd rose to mln tonnes on april against mln on april governments built up strategic stocks to mln tonnes against mln in the period the year on year trend of government stock building is continuing with year on year company stocks also rising more or less in line with consumption after declining for five years the iea noted oil stocks on land in the u s and canada were put at mln tonnes on april down from the mln tonnes on january and equivalent to and days of consumption respectively oil stocks in western europe were mln tonnes on april down from the mln on january but still equivalent to days of consumption world oil supply fell in the first quarter by about two mln bpd to mln bpd from mln bpd in last quarter this drop was mostly due to a decline in opec crude production to around mln bpd in february march from mln bpd in january and to the seasonal drop in exports from centrally planned economies the iea said total opec crude oil supply was mln bpd in the first quarter plus mln bpd of ngls compared with mln bpd of crude in the last three months of and mln average for the whole of supply from non opec countries totalled mln bpd against mln bpd in the fourth quarter a drop in saudi arabian output to a tentatively forecast mln bpd in march from mln bpd in february was the largest factor behind the opec production decline the iea said saudi arabia s opec assigned output quota is mln bpd reuter 
u s credit market outlook cautious trading u s bond trading is likely to remain cautious in the near term with a possible downward price bias as market participants focus on trends in the dollar the economy and federal reserve policy economists said most expect the economy to continue showing modest gains that the dollar has more room to fall and that the fed will keep policy essentially steady perhaps for several months until trends are clearer the market can only attempt to to establish and hold a new trading range at higher interest rates said economists at merrill lynch capital markets merrill lynch economists raymond stone and ward mccarthy said that while the fundamentals generally bode for a healthy investment climate the market will have no confidence in this environment until there is illumination of and confidence in u s dollar trade policy salomon brothers henry kaufman said the bond market highly sensitized to dollar movements could be encouraged if currency markets seem to be stabilizing or if u s and overseas economic growth is perceived as slowing sharply the crucial question however is how soon either of these developments is likely to occur kaufman said market uncertainties and the erosion of portfolio manager confidence could continue portfolio selling pressure a while longer said philip braverman chief economist at irving securities corp however braverman said that from a longer term perspective current bond prices provide a buying opportunity despite a nearly one point bond price rebound friday on unexpectedly weak march employment data key year treasury bonds lost points in price for the week as a whole and thursday s pct closing yield was a high braverman said historical evidence suggests that a long bond yield in the pct area provides a basis for optimism bonds closed at pct on friday the irving economist noted that three times last year in a similar paroxysm of pessimism the key bonds reached a similar closing yield high within three to six weeks in each instance however braverman said bond prices recovered to bring the yield down sharply by to basis points mitchell held of smith barney harris upham and co inc said that many portfolio managers now believe yields could approach nine pct by midyear which he considers unlikely held said that since late smith barney analysts have spoken about the risk that interest rates could move higher and they continue to believe that an upward bias is likely to persist over the next few months held said that in conversations with portfolio managers last week there appeared to be increasing belief that the rate rise had just begun and that yields could approach nine pct by midyear naturally that would mean a sharp bond price fall yields could rise further over the next few months but the rise should be less than the basis point rise we ve seen since the start of the year held said most expect fed policy to be neutral for bonds near term the fed is currently frozen into a fixed stance said economists at aubrey g lanston and co inc they said the fed cannot tighten policy and push up interest rates as might be appropriate to stabilize the dollar and head off renewed inflationary psychology that might harm the fragile u s economic expansion the lanston economists said the fed cannot ease its policy stance to both foster more rapid economic growth and calm domestic and third world debt jitters without the threat of causing a further decline in the dollar minutes of february s federal open market committee fomc meeting released friday showed that while the fomc left policy unchanged it was more inclined to firm rather than ease policy later if conditions in the economy foreign exchange or credit markets warranted a policy shift however economists generally believe that continued fairly sluggish u s economic growth and the financial strains on u s banks resulting from their problem loans to developing countries rule out any fed policy firming there is broad agreement among economists that the fomc at last tuesday s meeting also left fed policy unchanged this week s u s economic data are expected to have little impact february consumer instalment credit numbers are due on wednesday with march producer price data out friday there may be mild relief in some quarters that the u s purchasing managers composite index a closely watched economic indicator rose only to pct in march from pct a friday rumor had put the number far higher the index s first quarter average also was pct translating into real gnp growth of about three pct if continued through federal funds traded at pct late friday and are expected to open about there today with no fed action seen reuter 
iea forecasts slower growth in oecd oil demand growth in oil consumption in the western industrialized countries is likely to slow to around one pct this year compared with pct in the international energy agency said oil use in the member countries of the organization for economic cooperation and development oecd increased by around one pct in the first quarter of to mln barrels a day the iea said in its latest monthly report growth in oecd countries is expected to come primarily from transport fuels as was the case in but if average consumer prices are higher than the rate of growth for these fuels may be below last year s pct the iea said assuming crude and product prices remain nar current levels some destocking by end users can be expected if that takes place natural gas will also regain some of the market share it lost to heavy fuel in it said iea estimates on april one put oil stocks held in the oecd area at mln tonnes or days of forward consumption this is about the same as at the begining of the year the agency said this flat trend is explained by the projected seasonal consumption decline in the second quarter of the year which offset a reduction in stocks company stocks on land in the oecd rose to mln tonnes on april one this year compared with mln tonnes in calender while governments also built up their strategic stocks to mln tonnes against mln in the year on year trend of government stock building is continuing with company stocks rising more or less in line with consumption after declining for five years iea said oil stocks on land in the united states and canada were put at mln tonnes down from the mln tonnes on january one and equivalent to and days of consumption respectively oil stocks in western europe were mln tonnes down from the mln tonnes on january one but still equivalent to days of consumption the iea said that initial estimates indicate that company stocks fell by mln bpd in oecd countries in the first quarter of the year this followed a small rise in january of bpd but a decline of bpd in february and bpd in march and it is possible that final data will show a larger draw particulary for march it said as crude production also fell there is likely to have also been a decline in non reported stocks particularly at sea the iea said world oil supply fell through the first quarter by about two bpd to bpd from bpd in the last quarter of this drop was mostly due to a decline in opec crude production to around bpd in february march from bpd in january and to the seasonal drop in exports from centrally planned economies the iea said total opec oil supply totalled bpd in the first quarter of compare with bpd in the last three months of while supply from non opec countries totalled bpd as against bpd in the same period a drop in saudi arabian output to a tentatively forecast bpd in march from bpd in february was the largest factor behind the opec production decline the iea said reuter 
miyazawa sees big nations reaffirming paris pact finance minister kiichi miyazawa told a parliamentary committee he expects major nations to reafffirm the currency pact they struck in paris when they meet this week in washington political sources said the minister also was quoted as saying he expects major nations to take coordinated action to ensure exchange rate stability finance ministry officials were unavailable for immediate comment in paris on february six nations britain canada france japan the u s and west germany pledged to cooperate to hold their currencies stable reuter 
bundesbank sets day securities repurchase tender at fixed pct 
bundesbank sets new repurchase tender the bundesbank set a new tender for a day securities repurchase agreement offering banks liquidity aid at a fixed bid rate of pct a central bank spokesman said banks must make their bids by gmt today funds will be allocated by gmt tomorrow and credited to accounts later in the day banks must repurchase securities pledged on may reuter 
taiwan trade surplus widens in first quarter taiwan s trade surplus widened to billion u s dlrs in the first quarter of from billion a year ago the government statistics department said first quarter exports rose to billion u s dlrs from billion in the same period in imports rose to billion from billion last year the march trade surplus was billion dlrs compared with billion in february and billion in march exports rose to billion u s dlrs from billion in february and billion in march last year imports were billion dlrs against billion in february and billion in march reuter 
bank of japan to sell billion yen in bills the bank of japan will sell tomorrow a total of billion yen worth of financing bills from its holdings to help absorb a projected money market surplus of billion yen money traders said of the total billion yen will yield pct on sales from money houses to banks and securities houses in a day repurchase accord maturing on may another billion yen will yield pct in a day repurchase pact maturing on april they said the repurchase agreement yields compare with the pct one month and pct three week commercial bill discount rates today tomorrow s surplus is attributable to government tax allocations to local governments and public entities the operation will put outstanding bill supply at about billion yen they said reuter 
u k money market given mln stg assistance the bank of england said it had provided the money market with mln stg help in the morning session this compares with the bank s forecast of a shortage in the system today of around mln stg which it earlier revised up from mln the central bank bought bank bills comprising mln stg in band one at pct mln stg in band two at pct and mln stg in band three at pct it also purchased three mln stg of treasury bills and two mln stg of local authority bills in band three at pct reuter 
occidental oxy in big peru heavy oil find occidental petroleum corp said the shiviyacu development well on block ab in the peruvian amazon jungle is producing barrels of degree gravity oil per day from depths of to and to feet the company said it is drilling a new exploration well on the block southeast shiviyacu miles away reuter 
bp scottish refinery set to restart this week the british petroleum bp l co plc s refinery at grangemouth scotland shut down after an explosion and fire in the hydrocracker on march will probably be back in operation towards the week end a refinery spokesman said he said the refinery will resume at about half its barrels per day bpd capacity as work on overhauling the north side of the complex which began at the end of january will not be completed before the end of april he said the refinery had been closed for longer than originally expected due to the lengthy safety checks being carried out prior to restarting the explosion and fire in which one worker was killed caused extensive damage to the central part of the hydrocracker and the spokesman said today this unit would be out of operation for several months the remainder of the refinery including the catalytic cracker was undamaged he said inquiries into the accident which happened while the hydrocracker was not in operation were continuing in an earlier incident two people were killed in an explosion and fire at the refinery on march reuter 
britain warns japan over trade row british corporate affairs minister michael howard told japan to resolve the row over the u k firm cable and wireless plc s cawl l shareholding in a new japanese telecommunications company or face an abrupt deterioration in trade relations in meetings with both the foreign and telecommunications ministers howard said he expressed deep concern about the way tokyo had handled the dispute and about the continuing trade imbalance between the two countries i put it to the post and telecommunications minister that i was sure he did not want to be responsible for an abrupt deterioration in the trading relations of our countries which would have widespread reverberations elsewhere in the world howard told reporters he listened very carefully and i have little doubt the message got home he added british frustration over the lopsided trade balance nearly six billion dlrs in japan s favour last year has reached boiling point over the telecommunications issue howard said howard has accused japan of trying to shut out cable and wireless from having a major role in the international telephone market in japan i want a fair crack of the whip for cable and wireless as i want a fair crack of the whip for britain generally in trading relations howard said we simply aren t prepared to continue to accept the imbalance which has been the position for such a long time post and telecommunications ministry officials were unable to comment on howard s meeting with their minister but foreign ministry officials said foreign minister tadashi kuranari said that british exports to japan are increasing but acknowledged the continuing imbalance in trade kuranari said he wants everyone in the telecommunications dispute including cable and wireless to be satisfied howard told reporters that britain was actively considering possible retaliatory measures if it did not get its way on the telecommunications issue there are measures which are under consideration if we continue to suffer from the imbalance in our trading relations he added but gave no details he said he had received a reassuring response from the japanese he has spoken with but of course we ve had reassuring signs from the japanese for quite some time he added what i ve made plain is we expect to see action howard ruled out using powers in britain s financial services bill to retaliate against unfair trade practices those powers which allow london to ban foreign financial firms like banks from britain are designed to ensure u k firms equal access to overseas financial markets reuter 
u k money market given further mln stg help the bank of england said it provided the money market with a further mln stg assistance in the afternoon session this takes the bank s total help so far today to mln stg and compares with its revised estimate of a mln stg shortage in the system which it earlier revised up from mln the central bank made outright purchases of bank bills comprising mln stg in band one at pct mln stg in band two at pct mln stg in band three at pct and mln stg in band four at pct reuter 
volcker says exchange rate adjustment enough to narrow u s trade deficit 
volcker says reducing u s budget deficit needed to improve trade balance 
volcker says more stimulus abroad needed for adjustments in trade balances 
volcker urges industrial nations to keep trade markets open to foster growth 
u s calls for greater gatt checks on trade the united states has appealed for stronger powers for the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt to enforce world trade rules the call by u s deputy trade representative michael smith at a special committee meeting into the future of gatt follows a series of bilateral trade rows which have clouded efforts by the nation body to promote fair trade today s meeting was part of the uruguay trade round launched by ministers last september the round which covers areas of trade in agriculture manufactured goods and services will take four years to negotiate smith called for boosting gatt s links with financial institutions such as the international monetary fund and world bank he also urged greater involvement of trade ministers to ensure the success of the uruguay round the gatt as an institution needs to be strengthened to assure that the gatt plays its proper role in management of the world trading system and the global economy smith said rules can and will be ignored if the institution is weak or perceived as unable to adapt to the changing world economy he also also urged that member states be accountable to each other for their trade policies smith who flies to brussels today for talks with european community ec officials told reuters the committee wanted to stress gatt s importance and did not discuss specifics we are interested in more periodic ministerial involvement whether in formal or informal meetings he said gatt s ruling council is due to hear a complaint from the nation ec on april about the u s japanese accord on semiconductors the ec charges the accord breached gatt trade rules by allowing tokyo to set minimum prices for japanese chips sold in third countries and is requesting a gatt dispute panel be set up to review the agreement president reagan who strongly supported the uruguay trade round to promote freer trade has said washington will impose tariffs against japanese electronic goods he said tokyo had not shown willingness to open its markets to u s exports reuter 
volcker urges quick aid to debtor nations federal reserve board chairman paul volcker said that debtor nations have made much progress in laying the groundwork for economic growth but a solution to world debt difficulties was endangered by inaction on new financing there is clearly a danger that adequate financing arrangements are not being negotiated and put in place in a timely way volcker told the senate banking committee the borrowing countries need to be able to proceed with confidence that the necessary funds will be available to them he said brazil has the potential for becoming a leading world economic power but it is in a difficult position today volcker said he said it will take a concerted effort to regularize brazil s external payments the key prerequisite is clearly in the hands of brazilian authorities he said both brazil and its creditors have a strong incentive to work together volcker said regarding trade imbalances volcker said that it was critically important that markets be kept open by the industrial nations in addition the united states must reduce its budget deficit and foreign nations need to provide stimulus to their domestic economies volcker said we need time for those actions and the earlier depreciation to work their effects he said reuter 
volcker urges greater exchange rate stability federal reserve board chairman paul volcker said international policymakers should make improving the stability of exchange rates a major priority in testimony before a senate banking subcommittee volcker said he does not have any specific proposals for improving exchange rate stability but thought it was worthy goal i do think we ought to be thinking about and working toward greater exchange rate stability volcker said i think that the objective of greater exchange rate stability ought to loom larger among our various policy priorities reuter 
italy says g gives chance to verify tokyo accord this week s group of seven g meeting in washington provides an opportunity to verify an accord reached at the tokyo summit last may to include italy and canada in group of five g talks on management of the international monetary system and related issues the italian treasury said it said in a statement the g meeting which italy plans to attend will provide a forum for considering the tokyo accord in the light of events in paris in february this year on february italy boycotted a meeting in paris of its g partners the united states japan west germany france britain and canada after being excluded from an earlier session of talks involving g members today s statement from the italian treasury said nobody denies the existence of g but we should like it to be remembered that the tokyo accords provided for the enlargement of the group to italy and canada whenever the management or the improvement of the international monetary economic policy measures are to be discussed or dealt with italy refused to attend the paris g meeting on the grounds that g grouping the united states japan west germany france and britain had reduced italy s role to rubber stamping agreements already taken the italian treasury said today that italy was certain that this time incidents would not occur but it said it would be opportune to look in depth at the role and the procedures of g in relation to those of g reuter 
volcker pushes spending cuts over trade bill federal reserve board chairman paul volcker said reducing the federal budget deficit was a more important goal for congress than drafting trade legislation reduce the budget deficit volcker responded when asked by a member of the senate banking committee about trade legislation priorities if you don t deal with the budget deficit everything else you do is going to be counterproductive he said reuter 
volcker says restrictive monetary policy would hurt investment 
volcker sees tight policy hurting investment federal reserve board chairman paul volcker said a restrictive monetary policy would be damaging to investment and that a better course would be to restrain spending a restrictive monetary policy would hit investment you don t want to put interest rates up unless you have to volcker told the senate banking committee that is not a constructive way to proceed he said volcker said that given a choice between squeezing the budget deficit or squeezing investment he would favor squeezing the budget deficit in response to a question about banks volcker said he would be pleased if congress decided to give banks a tax writeoff as an incentive for them to take greater reserves against loans to debtor countries if you give a tax writeoff for reserving against loans then we will see more reserving and that would make me happy volcker told committee chairman sen william proxmire d wisc reuter 
fed sets two day system repurchases fed says 
fed sets two day system repurchases the federal reserve entered the government securities market to arrange two day repurchase agreements for system account a spokeswoman for the new york fed said fed funds were trading at pct at the time of the direct injection of temporary reserves dealers said most economists had expected a less aggressive injection of reserves via customer repurchase agreements reuter 
japan cuts chip supply may produce shortage japan is attempting to cut back semiconductor production to forstall the mln dlrs in u s tariffs on japanese electronic goods set to take effect april industry analysts said the move is likely to create a sharp price rise and a possible shortage of the key computer components in the next few weeks the analysts said prices have gone up for memory components the mainstay of the japanese semiconductor industry analyst drew peck of donaldson lufkin and jenrette said but analysts said the price rises have been slight so far and some questioned whether japan would be successful in forcing japanese companies to cut production in the long run others however were more optimistic saying evidence was already in hand that japan has cut back prodution and halted sales to the grey market the third country brokers that sell chips at below production costs we ve seen the grey market begin to dry up for d rams and it has virtually dried up for eproms said merrill lynch analyst thomas kurlack of the two key memory chips used in computers prices are inching up and lead times on deliveries are stretching kurlack added industry analysts said japan s ministry of international trade and industry or miti had requested the cut backs in production to meet the terms of last year s semiconductor accord with the u s the reagan adminsitration recently proposed tariffs on japanese electronic goods alleging that japan had failed to live up to the accord and continued to dump the computer components in the u s market but some analysts said japan s attempt to mollify the u s was a double edged sword and might be read at a subtle form of trade retaliation for the tariffs proposed by the u s as production in japan is cut these analysts argue prices will rise in the u s and few american semiconductor manufactures will be able to take up the slack since most long ago exited the market for memory chips u s computer makers that use the chips in their machines will then be pressured the japanese are looking for ways to reduce trade pressures from washington but at the same time they re demonstating their muscle analyst peck said the cut backs in japanese production are expected to benefit u s chip makers i think this could be a very important factor for u s semiconductor manufacturers industry analyst elliot levine of ladenburg thalmann co said but analyst peck said it will take a few weeks to see whether japan has genuinely cut production he said japanese manufactures were likely to view miti s request unfavorably because chip capacity was still high and production cut backs would lead to significant write offs in plant and equipment reuter 
u s urges surplus nations to boost growth leading industrial nations will be reviewing the paris agreement to stabilize exchange rates foster increased worldwide growth and reduce trade imbalances but the u s thinks the accord has been successful so far a senior u s treasury official said the paris accord will be reviewed at this meeting it has been successful and continues to be succesfull a senior u s treasury official told reporters in a briefing ahead of this week s semiannual imf and world bank meetings he also said the u s was looking to west germany and japan to bolster their economic growth the official said both surplus countries like west germany and japan and deficit countries like the u s agreed to play a role in bringing about more balanced economic growth he reaffirmed the u s would press ahead with efforts to reduce its budget deficit resist protectionism and boost u s competitiveness the official also said that he expected trade issues like the dispute between the u s and japan over microchips to be included in the discussions the official made no direct comment on the content or schedule of forthcoming group of five and group of seven discussions he said that industrial countries are concerned that the large external imbalances remain a threat to the international monetary system he added that the meetings will also provide an opportunity to discuss economic policy coordination efforts the official said indicators would be used to measure policy objectives of industrial countries and their economic projections they would also be used to assess progress of policy goals asked whether the u s was proposing a new initiative regarding the indicators the official said the issue would be reported to the venice summit in june monetary sources said the u s proposal envisages using the indicators to make policy coordination agreements like the paris accord more binding reuter 
cooperative energy tests oil at two wells cooperative energy development corp said two exploratory oil wells in the zama area of alberta tested and barrels a day and will increase the company s daily oil production by pct the company did not immediately elaborate on total production figures the wells flowing oil from the keg river formation will be constrained to combined production of about barrels a day to optimize reserve recovery the company said permanent production facilities are being installed and the wells will produce to pipeline by mid april reuter 
ussr exchange rates soviet state bank effective april roubles per hundred unless stated u s stg bfr dmk dfl lit can dkr nkr ffr skr unch fin mrk unch sfr yen aus sch aus dlr unch pak rup unch ind rup unch irn ryl unch lib din one unch mrc drhm unch 
canadians urge exemption from u s trade bill a group of canadian lawmakers from ontario today asked their u s counterparts to exempt canada from the mandatory trade retaliation provisions in a major trade bill being considered by the u s congress at a meeting of the northeast midwest coalition an organization of u s legislators david cooke chairman of the ontario parliament s select committee on economic affairs said the exemption would help trade relations the trade legislation to be considered by the full house in late april would require president reagan to retaliate against foreign unfair trade practices unless the trade actions would harm the u s economy currently reagan can reject trade sanctions on any grounds cooke a member of the liberal party told the u s congressmen i can understand the trade bill i think it has to do with concerns you have with the other parts of the world i would suggest to you that we are your best friends you do not have those concerns with canada and you should sincerely consider exempting our country from that bill he added canada is the united states largest trading partner with two way trade more than billion dlrs in according to the coalition but the u s ran up a billion dlr deficit in manufactured goods that year compared to a billion dlr surplus in services trade with its neighbour reuter 
japan seeks to strengthen paris currency accord japan will seek to strengthen the paris accord on currency stability at the meeting of the group of seven leading industrial nations tomorrow japanese officials said however the officials travelling with japanese finance minister kiichi miyazawa and who asked not to be identified would not provide any details of how they wanted the accord which was signed by the six leading industrial democracies in february to be strengthened currency target zones or reference ranges will not be discussed at the g meeting which is scheduled for tomorrow the japanese officials said the meeting which is being held in conjunction with this week s international monetary fund world bank sessions will reaffirm the currency pact and there is no need for changing the language used in the paris accord the officials said miyazawa met with u s treasury secretary james baker early in this afternoon and discussed the dollar yen exchange rates officials said but they declined to disclosed the details of that discussion the japanese officials also declined to detail what miyazawa and baker discussed on the subject of greater joint intervention in currency markets to stabilize the dollar or on independent american intervention the officials said such a money market action to stabilize the dollar is not only for the benefit of japan which is suffering from a sharp appreciation in its currency but also for the benefit of the united states as well as to u s urgings for japan to take steps to boost its domestic demand to reduce its trade surplus japan will explain economic measures to the g the officials said however miyazawa failed to outline the size of the japanese economic package in his meeting with baker today because the japanese budget has not been authorized by the diet or parliament despite the new fiscal year which started april one the officials said japan s ruling liberal democratic party revealed its own economic package today calling for more than billion yen in additional spending reuter 
south korean won fixed at month high the bank of korea said it fixed the midrate of the won at to the dollar its highest level since february when it was the won was set at yesterday the won has risen pct against the dollar so far this year after rising pct in reuter