JP/18/moneymatter

JP/18/moneymatter

Global economic growth is likely to bounce back by mid-2002 after
the September 11 attacks pushed the United States into the arms
of recession and slashed demand in other countries, the OECD's
chief said on Friday. The Paris-based Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) is set to more than halve the
2002 growth forecast for its 30 members, according to draft
figures for its November 20 projections release. -- Reuters

The Thai commerce ministry said on Friday exports declined 9.95
percent year-on-year last month to US$5.49 billion, while imports
slipped 6.19 percent to $5.05 billion, giving the country a trade
surplus of $440.9 million.--Reuters

The United Nations accused Iraq on Thursday of smuggling some
US$10 million worth of oil in violation of U.N. sanctions
regulations by loading the petroleum into a tanker after U.N.
inspectors disembarked. Iraq denied the accusations.--Reuters

Japanese consumer prices in September fell 0.8 percent year-on-
year after declining 0.7 percent in August, the government said
Friday. The September downturn marked the 25th straight monthly
fall, underlining the deflationary trend in Japan, the Ministry
of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications
said. --AFP

The World Bank announced on Thursday it would grant Vietnam a
US$110 million loan to finance the improvement of basic
infrastructure and social services. The project should benefit
about one million people, 85 percent of them from ethnic
minorities, the bank said in a statement. The 40-year loan has a
10-year grace period.--AFP

German annual producer prices rose 1.9 percent in September, the
lowest pace since December 1999, the Federal Statistics Office
said Friday. In August the year-on rate was 2.7 per cent after
3.1 percent in July. --DPA

Singapore's manufacturing output in September fell 22.3 percent
compared with the same period last year, sharper than the 21.4
percent contraction in August, the government said Friday. The
drop was largely due to cutbacks in the output of electronics,
the Economic Development Board said in a statement. -- AP

British economic growth remained steady at 2.2 percent in the
third quarter of 2001, assuaging fears that output would have
slumped due to the global slowdown and the events of Sept.11.
Gross domestic product grew by 0.6 percent in the July-September
period from the previous quarter, the Office for National
Statistics said in a provisional estimate to be revised next
month.--AFP

Vietnam's urban unemployment rate declined slightly this year,
while farmers' working time is almost unchanged, an official said
Friday. According to a nationwide survey in July, the urban
unemployment rate was 6.28 percent, down 0.14 percentage point
from a year earlier, the official said, adding farmers used only
74.37 percent of their potential working time, almost unchanged
from 74.14 percent last year -- AP