Oil plunges 6%
In its weekly inventory report, the Energy Information Administration said that crude stocks increased by 5.1 million barrels in the week ended July 24. Analysts were looking for a more modest build up of 1.1 million barrels, according to a consensus estimate from Platts, an energy research firm. More
CFTC supports some limit exemptions: chairman
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said on Wednesday he supported exemptions from tough new investor limits for bona fide hedgers, despite signs they could tarnish the usefulness of position limits. More
IMF to sell gold within central bank pact-official
The planned sale of 400 tonnes of IMF gold would take place within a new central bank gold sales agreement being negotiated, a senior International Monetary Fund official said Wednesday. The IMF has provisionally agreed to sell the gold to raise resources for increased lending to poor countries. A final decision by all 186 IMF member countries on the sales is expected by IMF meetings in Istanbul in October and requires the support of 85 percent of the membership. More
IMF boosts lending to poor states
The IMF said it will boost lending by up to $17bn (£10.4bn) between now and 2014 and suspend interest on some loans to low income countries until 2011. More
Dollar Rises as Stocks, Crude Oil Drop, Prompting Haven Demand
The dollar advanced from near the lowest level this month against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners as stocks plunged and crude oil slumped, bolstering demand for the greenback as a haven. More
Durable goods orders tumble 2.5%
New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell more sharply than expected in June, notching their biggest decline in five months as demand for communications and transportation equipment slumped, a government report showed on Wednesday. More
China Central Bank to Keep ‘Moderately Loose’ Policy Stance
“To continue to foster the relatively smooth and fast economic development is the top priority,†the People’s Bank of China said in a statement on its Web site that cited recent remarks by Su Ning, a deputy governor, in Shanghai. The Web site posting came hours after the biggest tumble in a benchmark Chinese stock index in eight months. More
