IBT Staff Reporter

India's love affair with the yellow metal is gaining strength every year with the 2010 first half showing a 94 per cent rise in demand for gold in India as compared to the 2009 first six months.

Natural gas prices have remained weak and will continue to do so in 2011 on abundant supplies and weak demand. Bank of America Merill Lynch (BofAML) has downgraded its average price forecast for fourth quarter of 2010 for natural gas prices from $5.60/MMBTU to $4.80/MMBTU. BofAML has sharply lowered its 2011 forecast to average of $5/MMBTu from $6/MMBTu.

Global oil prices recovered in Asian trade Wednesday but remained below $72 a barrel ahead of a crucial US oil inventories report due later today. Light sweet crude for October delivery was seen trading at $71.81 a barrel at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while Brent crude was at $72.41 a barrel in London.

Gold prices mixed in early Asian trade Wednesday but likely to advance further as signs of an economic slowdown may prompt investors to boost their holdings of the metal to try to preserve their wealth Spot gold was seen trading at $1231.35 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell $1 to $1,232.4 an ounce after rising as high as $1,237.50 on Tuesday.

World Gold Council on Wednesday said big traditional gold consumers like India and China help gold demand reach 1,050.3 metric tons in the second quarter. In a report, the WGC said this is 36 percent higher than the same quarter in 2009, mostly due to soaring investment demand.

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With political uncertainty hanging over the Aussie dollar recent attempts at a rally have been short lived as resistance around the 89 cent mark put a lid during yesterdays Asian afternoon session.

U.S. safety regulators have opened a preliminary investigation of about 3 million older Jeep Grand Cherokees with fuel tanks that may present a fire risk in a crash

U.S. regulators on Monday were still investigating the massive salmonella outbreak that sparked a recall of more than a half billion eggs, while lawmakers launched their own probes and consumer advocates urged passage of a law to give food regulators more power.

Women who took medication to treat herpes infections during pregnancy weren't more likely to have a baby with birth defects than women who didn't take these drugs in a study of over 800,000 babies born in Denmark.

Adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who still have symptoms despite taking medications might benefit from talk therapy, also known as cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, according to a study released Tuesday.

Some diabetics are at risk of developing chronic kidney disease if they have mutations of a certain gene, a long-term study in Hong Kong has found.

Large percentages of Mexican adults have risk factors for heart disease and stroke -- suggesting, researchers say, that without intervention, the nation's rate of cardiovascular disease will continue the climb it began several decades ago.

The White House is reviewing all options for responding to a court ruling stopping federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Adding an experimental drug to chemotherapy helped wipe out brain cancer cells in mice, offering a promising new treatment approach for the deadly cancer, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Children whose mothers were exposed to certain types of pesticides while pregnant were more likely to have attention problems as they grew up, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

Taking high doses of vitamins C and E during pregnancy may not change a woman's risk of preterm delivery, according to a new study.

* New inflation or price-level targets still options * BoC to study its role in securing financial stability * Must be cautious, price stability will not be sacrificed

The U.S. dollar pared losses against the yen on Tuesday after the Nikkei business daily reported the Bank of Japan is considering additional steps to loosen monetary policy.

Units Sold (in mlns) July June June Prev May July09 Total Existing Homes 3.83 5.26 5.37 5.66 5.14

The cost of insuring the debt of U.S. homebuilders rose on Tuesday after sales of previously owned homes dropped more steeply than expected in July to their lowers pace in 15 years.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes took a record drop in July to their lowest pace in 15 years, suggesting further loss of momentum in the economic recovery.

U.S. auto safety regulators have stepped up an investigation into the risk that up to 1.2 million Toyota Motor Corp Corolla and Matrix vehicles could stall due to defective electronic engine control units.

President Barack Obama's administration asked U.S. doctors Monday to get on board with health reform legislation passed in March, saying those who embrace change will prosper.

Scientists have found that vitamin D influences more than 200 genes, including ones related to cancer and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis -- a discovery that shows how serious vitamin D deficiency can be.

The dollar extended declines versus the Japanese yen on Tuesday after a report showed sales of previously owned U.S. homes dropped more steeply than expected in July.

Chile's peso is in line with longer-term fundamentals in real terms but the central bank can intervene in exceptional circumstances and does not rule out using the tools at its disposal, Central Bank President Jose De Gregorio said on Tuesday.

Oil prices fell below $72 a barrel on Tuesday, down for a fifth day after weak U.S. economic data spread gloom about the ability of top consumer the United States to work through record stocks.