MEXICO

The head of oil major Total warned of tougher safety rules that could push up crude prices as the first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season compounded the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Oil was steady around $73 on Friday, near 3-week lows after a spate of weak manufacturing data renewed worries about slower global economic growth ahead of a key U.S. jobs report. Manufacturing growth cooled around the world in June, reports from China, Europe and the U.S. showed on Thursday, adding to evidence that the global economic recovery is losing steam.

Oil prices rebounded on Friday from 3-week lows, but were still far from reversing the biggest one-day drop in almost a month a day earlier, after a spate of weak manufacturing data reflected slower global economic growth.

Tropical storm Alex slowed oil spill clean-up and containment work in the Gulf of Mexico and drove more petroleum into fragile Gulf wetlands and beaches on Thursday, with any permanent fix to BP Plc's ruptured deep-sea well still several weeks away.

Hurricane Alex slowed oil clean-up and containment efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, with any permanent fix to BP Plc's ruptured deep-sea oil well still several weeks away.

Oil fell more than 4 percent to below $73 a barrel on Thursday, its biggest dive in five months, as weak manufacturing data from China and the United States fueled concerns about faltering economic growth.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday maintained pressure on China to ensure its currency policy did not give it an unfair export advantage.

To get an idea of how some U.S. textile mills can compete with developing-world rivals who pay far lower wages, roll a bowling ball down one of the production lines at Parkdale Mills' Walnut Cove yarn plant.

Refiles to fix temperature conversion in 4th last paragraph

The International Monetary Fund is working to develop new lending instruments for economies hit by crises that are not of their own making, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Tuesday.

A toxic combination of European banking concerns, a downward revision to Chinese growth and poor U.S. economic data battered Latin American currencies on Tuesday. Brazil's real was hit the hardest, plunging to its weakest level in about two weeks, as investors fled higher-risk assets worldwide.

Oil prices fell 2 percent to below $77 per barrel on Tuesday as stock markets slumped and risk appetite dwindled on renewed worries over euro zone debt.

Oil fell as much as 1.7 percent to below $77 on Tuesday as forecasts indicated tropical storm Alex would skirt the main production region in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, limiting disruption there to a few precautionary shutdowns.

To get an idea of how some U.S. textile mills can compete with developing-world rivals who pay far lower wages, roll a bowling ball down one of the production lines at Parkdale Mills' Walnut Cove yarn plant.

Enbridge said on Monday that it declared force majeure on its offshore Nautilus natural gas pipeline system after some Gulf of Mexico producers shut in supply as a precaution against Tropical Storm Alex.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed opening on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.4 percent, Dow Jones futures gaining 0.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.3 percent at 4:50 a.m. ET.

Oil eased below $79 a barrel on Monday, turning lower after prices touched their highest in almost eight weeks as tropical storm Alex disrupted Mexican exports and prompted some U.S. producers to evacuate platforms.

Oil touched its highest price in almost eight weeks on Monday, trading near $79 as tropical storm Alex forced Mexico to slow oil exports and some offshore U.S. producers to evacuate platforms and curb output. Japan's Nikkei average fell 0.45 percent on Monday, with the dollar little changed against a basket of currencies, despite an upbeat sign for the macroeconomic outlook on Friday from U.S. consumer sentiment, which rose in June to its highest since January 2008.

Gluey gobs of thick oil from BP Plc's Gulf of Mexico spill washed ashore in Mississippi for the first time on Sunday as Russia called for a special levy on oil companies to finance a fund to help clean up environmental disasters like this one.

Gluey gobs of thick oil from BP Plc's Gulf of Mexico spill washed ashore in Mississippi for the first time on Sunday as Russia called for a special levy on oil companies to finance a fund to help clean up environmental disasters like this one.

The Atlantic hurricane season's first named storm posed an uncertain threat to the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, as a report said relief wells may halt the worst U.S. oil spill ahead of schedule.