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