Iraq's oil minister said Saturday that his country is ready to rejoin the quota system of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries when the time is right. Speaking to journalists after an oil field licensing round in Baghdad, Hussain Al Shahristani said "it »

Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods multinational, Friday announced it was cutting ties with a major Indonesian supplier of palm oil after a campaigning environmental NGO accused the company of causing climate change. Unilever suspended all purchases from »

Colombian ethanol production in October was sharply up to 28.224 million liters, the Colombian Sugar Cane Producers Association, or Asocana, said Friday. This compares to total ethanol production in Colombia in October last year of 1.869 million liters, Asocana said in a report releasing first preliminary figures for the month. »

Coffee production from Costa Rica's new 2009-10 harvest through Nov. 15 was down 44%, at 223,652 (60-kilogram) bags, the Costa Rican Coffee Institute, or Icafe, said Friday. This compares to registered production of 397,023 bags harvested through the same dat »

International Energy Agency projected Fri US oil demand won't post a year-on-year quarterly rise until 2Q 2010. That runs counter to federal Energy Information Administration projection of a modest 0.7%, or 130,000 b/d rise in 1Q 2010 US oil use, which would snap a streak of nine »

LONDON–The International Energy Agency Friday forecast world oil demand to grow slightly more than previously expected next year mainly due to accelerating economic activity in China, the world’s second biggest oil consumer. The Paris-based agency’s forecast coincided with a raft of Chinese economic data released Friday — including a report showing industrial activity rising by... »

Physical trading continued at a modest pace this week in the Mexican cash grains markets as good demand was reported for import-dominated types of grain as well local crops, traders and importers said Friday. "There has been some buying, not any major volumes, but demand is pretty solid at the »

El Salvadoran coffee exports in November, the second month of the new 2009-10 crop cycle were down 56% at 10,703 60-kilogram bags, the official Salvadoran Coffee Council said Friday. This compares to Salvadoran coffee exports of 24,117 bags in November last year during the 2008-09 crop cycle, which runs... »

Steady demand Friday continued to lift Los Angeles spot gasoline pricing differentials, and for the early part of the day countered lower benchmark prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Those losses were reversed in afternoon trading even though the front-month Nymex crude oil futures contract fell to a two-month low. »

LONDON -- World oil demand will grow slightly more than expected next year, the International Energy Agency said, mainly due to accelerating economic activity in China. The Paris-based agency's forecast coincided with a raft of Chinese economic data released Friday -- including a report showing industrial activity rising by 19% in November -- that »

Gold futures hit the lowest level in four weeks Friday when a strong U.S. retail-sales report boosted the dollar. "Expectations are rising that the U.S. economy may not be faring as badly as many would have expected," said Carlos Sanchez, associate director of research with CPM Group. "That, »

Physical trading in the Colombian cash arabica coffee market continued to slow on growing panic over a looming supply shortage that sent premiums surging, with disappointment over the flow of the new 2009-10 crop adding to the market's concerns, exporters and traders said Friday. »

Gold hit a four-week low Friday after strong U.S. retail sales boosted the dollar amid renewed expectations that interest rates might rise sooner than expected. Gold has fallen in five of the last six days, and the December contract on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange had its worst week since February,... »

Cocoa traders welcomed the rainfall Friday in parts of Nigeria's southwestern cocoa belt, saying they would help boost the development of the 2009-10 (September-October) midcrop beans. Kola Shodipo, a trader in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state, said the moisture would assist »

The dollar surged against its major rivals Friday after investors stepped up bets that stronger economic data will prompt the Federal Reserve to signal the end of ultra-low U.S. interest rates sooner than expected. Stronger demand for the greenback sent the euro to its lowest level in two months, with »