Oil drops four percent on lower World Bank economic forecast

October 9th, 2009 Global oil demand seen rising amid recoveryPARIS — Faster economic growth next year, particularly in the developing world, will drive oil demand higher than previously expected, the International Energy Agency said Friday. The Paris-based IEA, which advises oil-consuming countries, said crude demand would reach 86.1 million barrels a day in 2010, up 1.7 percent from this year, the IEA said in its monthly oil report.

September 22nd, 2009 MANILA - The overall economic expansion of developing Asia this year was expected to rise to 3.9 percent, sustained by the region's larger economies like China and India, the Asian Development Bank said in a report Tuesday. The update to ADB's flagship annual economic publication Asian Development Outlook, upgraded its forecast of the region's growth from a slightly lower 3.4 percent projection made in March and said it is likely to top 6.4 percent in 2010.

September 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's economic growth is forecast to slip to 5 percent in 2009 from 7 percent during the previous calendar year, even as the world output is slated to decline by 2.7 percent, said a report released by a UN agency Monday. "Since domestic demand accounts for a large and increasing share of total demand, South Asia, particularly India, is expected to see continued growth in 2009," said the annual Trade and Development Report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

July 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The worldwide recession has led immigrants in wealthy countries to cut back sharply on how much money they send back to their home countries, according to a World Bank report released Monday. Remittances to developing countries jumped 15 percent in 2008 to $328 billion, but will plummet 7.3 percent in 2009, the World Bank predicted, revising its earlier forecast of a 5-percent decline this year.

July 2nd, 2009 Swedish Riksbank cuts rates to record low 0.25 pctSTOCKHOLM — Sweden's central bank on Thursday surprised markets by cutting its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.25 percent, saying the economic downturn appears to be deeper than previously forecast. It added that low official interest rates might not be enough to make financial markets recover and decided to issue loans of 100 billion kronor ($13.1 billion) to banks.

June 24th, 2009 World Bank: Russian economy to shrink 7.9 pctMOSCOW — Russia's economy will shrink by 7.9 percent this year, plunging millions of Russians into poverty and pushing the unemployment rate to 13 percent, the World Bank said Wednesday. The contraction in gross domestic product has been "much larger" than anticipated, and growth is unlikely to pick up even with buoyant oil prices this year, said Zeljko Bogetic, the World Bank's lead economist for Russia.

June 23rd, 2009 Oil sinks below $67 on World Bank forecast cutSINGAPORE — Oil prices sank below $67 a barrel Tuesday on expectations of weak demand after the World Bank forecast a deeper recession this year. Benchmark crude for August delivery fell 52 cents to $66.98 a barrel by midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

June 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Warning that the world is entering an era of slower growth, the World Bank Monday said that without India and China, the developing countries' output would shrink 1.6 percent. But with the two Asian engines of growth included, developing countries are expected to grow by only 1.2 percent this year, after 8.1 percent growth in 2007 and 5.9 percent growth in 2008.

June 22nd, 2009 World Bank cuts 2009 global growth forecastBEIJING — The World Bank has cut its 2009 global growth forecast, saying the world economy will shrink by 2.9 percent and warning that a drop in investment in developing countries will increase poverty. "The global recession has deepened," the Washington-based multilateral lender said in a report.

June 18th, 2009 World Bank raises 2009 China growth forecastBEIJING — The World Bank is raising its 2009 growth forecast for China due to the country's stimulus-driven investment boom. But it also cautions that it is still too soon to say a sustained recovery is on the way.

June 5th, 2009 German central bank: economy to stagnate in 2010FRANKFURT — Germany's economy will shrink by 6.2 percent this year and stagnate in 2010, the country's central bank said Friday, delivering a forecast more pessimistic than the government's. The Bundesbank said in its June monthly report that the new projection is "a reflection of the massive economic downturn" late last year and early this year.

May 5th, 2009 Philippine inflation dips to 4.8 percent in AprilMANILA, Philippines — The Philippines' inflation rate slid to 4.8 percent in April from 6.4 percent in March due to lower food prices, the central bank announced Tuesday. The figure brings year-to-date inflation to 6.4 percent, down from 6.9 percent in March — well within the 4.5-5.4 percent forecast, central bank officer-in-charge Armando Suratos said.

April 23rd, 2009 Development banks pledge $90B to Latam, CaribWASHINGTON — Development banks on Wednesday pledged about $90 billion in loans to Latin America and the Caribbean over the next two years to help the region fight a looming recession and generate growth. The financial crisis is battering the region through lower commodity prices, slumping demand for exports and tighter credit.

March 10th, 2009 NEW YORK - Major US stock indices closed lower Monday, after the World Bank said it expects the global economy to shrink this year and billionaire Warren Buffett offered another dire assessment about the state of the US economy. Buffett, the world's richest man according to Forbes Magazine, told US business broadcaster CNBC that the economy 'has fallen off a cliff' and criticized the US government response to the crisis as 'muddled'.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government has sought an additional $4.2 billion loan from the World Bank, majority of which will be used to recapitalise four state-run banks, a top official said here Monday. 'The government has sought additional world bank spending of $4.2 billion.