IMF chief to travel to Asia

WASHINGTON: International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will visit Asia this month and meet with Chinese officials to discuss the global economic recovery, an IMF official said. The IMF managing director will arrive first in Singapore, where he is to deliver the 2009 Monetary Authority of Singapore lecture on November 13 on “the role of Asia in reshaping the global economy,” she said.

WASHINGTON: International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will visit Asia this month and meet with Chinese officials to discuss the global economic recovery, an IMF official said.

The IMF managing director will arrive first in Singapore, where he is to deliver the 2009 Monetary Authority of Singapore lecture on November 13 on “the role of Asia in reshaping the global economy,” she said. Strauss-Kahn will visit China on November 16-17.

He will meet in Beijing with Chinese authorities to discuss “the international policy response to the crisis and prospects going forward and the role of Asia,” she said.

Oil rises above $80 amid stock market surge

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose above $80 a barrel Friday in Asia as crude investors eyed a surge in global stock markets. Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 47 cents to $80.09 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose above $80 a barrel Friday in Asia as crude investors eyed a surge in global stock markets.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 47 cents to $80.09 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 78 cents to settle at $79.62 on Thursday.

Oil traders often look to stock markets for a sense of overall investor sentiment, and the Dow Jones industrial average rose 2.1 percent Thursday on better-than -expected jobless claims numbers and positive forecasts by Cisco Systems Inc. All major Asia indexes were also up in early Friday trading.

Crude investors are also watching signs in recent weeks of a drop in U.S. oil supplies, which increased sharply this year as demand shrank. Some analysts forecast higher oil prices next year as the economy strengthens and demand recovers.

“We expect fundamentals to improve as oil demand growth resumes,” Morgan Stanley said in a report. “Until the oil market tightens, oil will be dragged in the wake of other risky asset price moves.”

Morgan Stanley said it expects oil to average $85 a barrel next year.

Crude has crisscrossed the $80 level for the last few weeks as investors mull weak U.S. consumer demand and a volatile dollar.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 1.16 cents to $2.07 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery gained 0.99 cent to $2.00 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery fell 1 cent to $4.78 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude for December delivery rose 66 cents to $78.65 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Dollar down vs Rupee in open market

KARACHI: Dollar slipped under Rs84 level, as the greenback depreciated versus Pakistani rupee in open market, Geo News reported Friday. According to Forex Association of Pakistan, the dollar is being purchased at Rs83.90 and sold at Rs83.94 in the open market

KARACHI: Dollar slipped under Rs84 level, as the greenback depreciated versus Pakistani rupee in open market, Geo News reported Friday.

According to Forex Association of Pakistan, the dollar is being purchased at Rs83.90 and sold at Rs83.94 in the open market.

According to President Forex Association of Pakistan Malik Bostan, the demand for dollar and Saudi Riyal after witnessing peak season owing to the Hajj, now is on the decrease. This has given rise to rupee appreciation.

In interbank market, dollar went down by nine paisa vs rupee, as dollar is being purchased at Rs83.56 and sold at Rs83.60.