Business

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia is trying to minimise the impact of plunging oil prices on its economy, King Salman said Tuesday in a wide-ranging address which promised a more diversified economy.

"The low prices witnessed by the oil market are having an effect on the income of the kingdom. However, we are working towards minimising the impact on development," Salman, 79, said in his first major speech since acceding to the throne on January 23.

Over the second half of last year the global price of crude oil dropped by about half, from above $100 a barrel.

Yet the kingdom in December announced a 2015 budget that included a slight rise in spending to $229.3 billion with a projected fall in revenue to $190.7 billion. Those numbers leave the country with its first budget deficit since 2011.

Saudi Arabia is the Arab world's largest economy, and much of its spending is on health, education and social services as well as infrastructure.

Officials have said the kingdom's reserves, estimated at $750 billion, enable it to withstand the global crude price drop.

Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest crude exporter and oil makes up about 90 per cent of government revenue.

Salman told government officials and other dignitaries that the search for new deposits of oil, gas and other natural resources in Saudi Arabia would continue.

"High petrol prices during the past few years have had a positive effect on the economy of the kingdom, in the development of projects," the king said.

But the plunge in oil prices has emphasised the need for economic alternatives, and Salman indicated that the kingdom's future economy "will be based on a number of foundations", with a growing number of small and medium enterprises.

"The next few years will be full of important accomplishments aimed at emphasising the role of the industry and the service sectors in the national economy," he added.

Continuity 

Salman delivered his wide-ranging palace address in front of Crown Prince Moqren, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef, provincial governors, the top cleric Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh, other religious leaders, the Shura Council which advises the monarch, military officers and citizens.

"I have committed myself to continuing the work on the immutable foundations on which this blessed country has stood since its unification," he said, mentioning adherence to sharia Islamic law and preservation of unity and stability.

"We shall work continually towards the integrated, balanced and comprehensive development in all regions of the kingdom," added Salman, the latest in a line of ruling sons of King Abdul Aziz Bin Saud, who founded Saudi Arabia in 1932.

The conservative Sunni-majority kingdom has a Shiite minority which has complained of marginalisation.

Salman urged officials to "be attuned to the citizens", and indicated that he wants the fight against corruption stepped up.

The kingdom's foreign policy "is based on the teachings of our religion that call for peace and kindness", Salman said, but "extremism and terrorism" will be fought at their roots in cooperation with others.

"Defence of Arab and Islamic causes, and in the first place the right of the Palestinians to a state with Jerusalem as its capital, will remain at the top of Saudi Arabia's demands," Salman added.

Analysts have expected the new king to maintain a steady course for the kingdom's oil and foreign policy after his half-brother king Abdullah died aged about 90.

AMMAN — A Jordanian economic delegation, representing health and pharmaceutical industries, participated recently in the German-Arab Health Forum VIII held in Berlin, according to a press statement from the Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI).

"The chamber organised a diversified work programme for the Jordanian delegation in cooperation with the director of the office of the German-Jordanian Economic Cooperation Fahmi Najjar," the press statement said.

The programme included visiting a number of medical institutions and manufacturers of medical devices and prostheses in Germany; as well as a meeting with the deputy director of the German Academic Exchange service (DAAD), during which the heads of Jordanian universities discussed topics of scholarships and post-graduate studies in Germany.

Moreover, an expanded meeting with Charite hospitals managers (the largest hospitals in Europe) was held. ACI President Ziyad Homsi indicated that 17 Jordanian pharmaceutical factories export their production to more than 60 countries.

He said these factories export over 80 per cent of their production abroad and help support the trade balance in Jordan by nearly $ 600 million.

AMMAN – Jordan's inflation went down by 0.8 per cent during the first two months of this year compared to the same period in 2014, according to the Department of Statistics (DoS).

The drop was attributed to lower transportation charges and a decline in the prices of fuel, vegetables, beans and beverages offsetting  a rise in rentals and prices of cigarettes, fruits, poultry and nuts in addition to  education.

As of Januray 2015, the department recalculated the inflation rate based on 2010 prices as the reference year and not 2006, in line with the international indicators.

AMMAN – Industry, Trade and Supply Minister Maha Ali on Wednesday underlined the ministry’s commitment to cooperate with the Investment Commission (IC) to build on national efforts that seek to increase investment.

During a meeting with IC President Muntaser Oqleh, Ali said attracting more investment is considered a top priority to the government, according to a statement received by The Jordan Times. 

AMMAN — Amman Chamber of Commerce President Issa Murad on Tuesday highlighted Jordan’s favourable investment environment and urged investors to benefit from the Kingdom’s trade agreements with different countries and economic entities.

During a meeting with a delegation of the Australian Arab Business Council, he said that despite the state of political instability in the region, Jordan is a safe haven for investments and investors.

The Australian delegation, chaired by Raymond Najar, comprises representatives of different companies, specialised in food industries, agriculture, livestock trade and water and irrigation. During the first 11 months of 2014, Jordan imports from Australia amounted to around $128 million while its exports to Australia stood at JD 13 million. 

TEL AVIV — Whoever wins Israel's election next week must answer demands for relief from soaring housing prices and a high cost of living, but the days of big state spending on social programmes are unlikely to return.

Opinion polls show that more than half of Israelis believe social issues and living expenses, which are much higher than in western Europe or the United States, are their top priorities in selecting a party on
March 17.

By contrast, fewer than 30 per cent say they are most concerned by the security threats facing Israel on which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, nicknamed "Bibi", has focused his campaign.

But even a centre-left bloc that is promising to ease the economic burden on citizens believes that driving up government spending is not an option.

"No way is that going to happen. That is a thing of the previous century," said Manuel Trajtenberg of the Zionist Union that groups the Labour Party and the centrist Hatnua.

"We have to be extremely careful with the [budget] deficit. We cannot afford to run high deficits," added Trajtenberg, a fiscal conservative whom Zionist Union has designated as finance minister should it lead the next coalition government.

Polls show Zionist Union of Labour's Isaac Herzog, nicknamed "Bougie", and Hatnua's Tzipi Livni is in a tight race with Netanyahu's Likud. However, the incumbent appears better placed to find more allies within a right-wing bloc to form the next coalition.

As in a number of European countries, the consumer price index is actually falling; it was down 0.5 per cent year on year in January. 

But central bank figures for 2013 show a basket of basic products was 12 per cent more expensive in Israel than the average for wealthy nations in the countries grouped in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), while gross annual salaries were $10,000 lower.

On top of this, house prices have doubled since 2007, putting home ownership out of the reach of many young Israelis, while rents are also rising sharply.

In the summer of 2011, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in protests first set off by the cost of cottage cheese, a popular staple. Those scenes have not been repeated in the cold winter weeks leading to next Tuesday's election, but candidates have still been making reform promises.

Netanyahu, who is seeking a fourth term as premier, has addressed the cost-of-living concerns despite his focus on opposing a nuclear deal with Iran.

He has promised to eliminate an 18 per cent value-added tax on basic foods. His outgoing government had already begun to allow more food imports to boost competition while passing legislation to break up conglomerates.

One challenger, centrist Moshe Kahlon of the new Kulanu Party, has made no secret that he wants the post of finance minister no matter who forms the next coalition.

Kahlon, responsible for a steep drop in mobile phone rates by boosting competition as communications minister in a previous government, has proposed housing market reforms including freeing up more state-owned land for development, speeding up supply and removing bureaucratic barriers in the hope of lowering prices.

Polls suggest Kulanu will win nine seats in the 120-member parliament. If it breaks into double digits, strengthening its case for a place in the next coalition, this could make waves as Kahlon also wants more banking competition.

"If Kahlon gets double-digit mandates, it will be a short-term shock for capital markets," said Avihay Sorezcky, chief international strategist at IBI Investment House.

Best in the west

Some analysts are confident about the economy, regardless of whether "Bibi" or "Bougie" wins. "The election, no matter how it turns out, should not dampen the healthy growth and stable fiscal trajectory," said Elliot Hentov, director for sovereign credit ratings at Standard & Poor's.

The outgoing government's draft budget, which has now been shelved, set the 2015 deficit target at 3.4 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), up from 2.8 per cent last year largely due to higher defence spending. 

Hentov expects this year's target to be only slightly higher under a new government at 3.6 per cent of GDP.

In 2003, when Netanyahu was finance minister, Israel shifted to a free-market economy. State spending was slashed in favour of the private sector driving economic growth, while the public debt burden has dropped.

Since then, Israel's growth has been among the best in the West, but candidates looking to unseat Netanyahu say this has not helped families to make ends meet.

Trajtenberg, who supports a smaller defence budget, has unveiled a 7 billion shekel ($1.7 billion) plan to boost education and healthcare spending from 2016.

He told Reuters that as finance minister he would pursue reform under a housing "czar", something that would not cost the government money. He ruled out new taxes, although he would try to expand the tax base and lower the salary threshold for filing a tax return.

"Regardless of who forms the next coalition, the basic macroeconomic policies such as budgetary discipline, will not really change," said Joseph Bachar, chairman of Israel Discount Bank and a former finance ministry director general.

Eldad Tamir, chief executive of brokerage Tamir Fishman, forecast a measured approach to reform whoever wins. "I don't see any government taking any major risks because there won't be a big winner," Tamir said.

"War is something we live with all the time, now all that interests me is keeping the refrigerator full," Levy said at a grocery shop in a market in the Talpiot fruit and vegetable market in the northern city of Haifa.       

Levy, who describes himself as a lifelong Likud voter, is a member of Israel's Sephardic community, Jews of Middle Eastern descent who, attracted by a tough stance towards Arab enemies, have traditionally been the party's backbone.

Political analysts say Sephardim who are disproportionately poorer than Israel's Ashkenazi Jews with roots in Europe, may throw their support elsewhere in the March 17 election, angry over the high cost of living and housing prices.

Netanyahu's battle to preserve Sephardic backing in Israel's lower-income areas is being played out in places such as the Haifa marketplace and Mahane Yehuda market in occupied Jerusalem, where the prime minister himself made an appearance on Monday.

But in a departure from tradition, reporters were not given advance notice of Netanyahu's visit, a sign, some commentators said, of campaign concerns of a lukewarm welcome in what has long been a bastion of Likud support.

Video that emerged from the visit showed shoppers applauding Netanyahu as he promised them a "prosperous Jerusalem" if they voted Likud.

Small change

But one café owner, who served Netanyahu a latte, said she made a symbolic protest by handing him 87 shekels ($22) in a fistful of coins as change for his order, which he paid for with a 100 shekel ($25) bill.

"It was important to remind him that while he invokes the Iranian [nuclear] threat, we, the small business owners, have a daily struggle to earn even small change," she said.

Likud dispatched a fiery Sephardic legislator, Miri Regev, to the market in Haifa to make its case.

"You have to vote for Likud, we've done more than anyone,"  Regev, a former brigadier general and political hardliner of Moroccan origin, shouted through a microphone at shoppers.

Regev, 49, has been visiting far-flung and hardscrabble towns in a trailer emblazoned with her portrait and the Likud logo.

"The more that people from the periphery go and vote, the greater the number of votes there will be for Likud," Regev told Reuters over a spinach turnover, a popular Sephardic dish.

Shmuel Sandler, a political scientist at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, acknowledged "a traditional vote for Likud among Sephardim". But he added: "It's not totally clear this time how it will go."

In the Haifa market, some shoppers of Sephardic descent said they were weighing whether to switch their vote from Likud to a party with what they hope will be a more economics-minded agenda.

"Bibi has spit in our face. I don't believe in anyone anymore," shopper Shaul Sabag said, as Regev passed a vegetable stall where he stood. Levy, a cleaning materials salesman, said he also preferred not to cast any ballot at all.

Gideon Rahat, a political scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Levy's case was an example of how poorer Israelis were growing more alienated from politics, once a rarer phenomenon in security-minded Israel than elsewhere.

"The ethnic vote doesn't necessarily help Likud anymore, but that doesn't mean they will swing behind Netanyahu's rivals, either," Rahat said. "Anti-Netanyahu sentiment won't necessarily push people to vote for another party; they may just not vote at all."

But Likud may be able to make up for lost votes if it partners with several centrist and religious parties that have been focusing on the Sephardic electorate.

Ultra-Orthodox Shas, or Sephardic Torah Guardians, and Kulanu, a centrist faction advocating economic reform, have signalled they would prefer to join a government headed by Netanyahu rather than by Herzog.

PARIS/BERLIN — Russia's lurch into recession has hit many tourism and luxury goods companies hard, forcing them to cut prices, and in turn costs, in an attempt to limit the damage.

And there are few signs things will get better soon, with a fragile ceasefire in eastern Ukraine doing little to ease international tensions over Moscow's support for pro-Russian separatists in the region.

The ruble lost almost half of its value against the US dollar last year after oil prices crashed and the West imposed sanctions on Moscow. That has crushed Russians' spending power, forcing them to cut back and put pricey holiday plans on hold.

Spending on international travel by Russians fell by 6 per cent in 2014, according to the UN World Tourism Organisation.

Russian tourists are major buyers of luxury goods, particularly in European capitals such as Milan where they are regular customers of brands such as Ferragamo, Moncler  and Kering's Italian tailor Brioni.

Clerks at the menswear department of posh Milan department store Rinascente said Russian clients had virtually disappeared.

According to tax-refund company Global Blue, spending by Russian tourists fell 17 per cent last year, and plunged 51 per cent in January following a 44 per cent fall in December.

Although there was an unexpected spike in sales for some in December as Russians offloaded the fast-depreciating rubles for durable luxury goods such as Cartier watches, many brands are preparing for a tough 2015.

Italian fashion group Roberto Cavalli expects Russian sales to drop 20 per cent this year, while LVMH's watch brand Hublot has already seen sales decline 20 per cent in Russia since January, a source close to the company said.

How best to cope?

Eager to preserve client relationships, some brands have kept a lid on Russian prices at the expense of margins.

Jerome Biard, who exports Swiss watches to Russia through his distribution company LPI and represents brands such as Burberry, Michael Kors, Armani and Raymond Weil, has suffered an extra blow from a surge in the Swiss franc, but has held back from passing the costs on to customers.

"My strategy was to protect my distributors and help them empty their stocks at the end and beginning of the year, so we all agreed to sacrifice our margins," Biard said.

LVMH's Swiss luxury brand Tag Heuer, whose boutique in Ekaterinburg enjoyed record sales in December, said it kept prices relatively unchanged in Russia last year, though now plans to raise prices by around 20 per cent this month.

Several lingerie providers such as Lise Charmel have also made efforts to keep prices affordable in Russia, which has been one of their top export markets.

But some have had to cut costs to cope.

Mid-range French lingerie maker Maison LeJaby, which counts on Russia for 30 per cent of turnover, has had to shed 27 per cent of its staff, or 50 people, this month.

Upmarket watchmaker Ulysse Nardin, recently acquired by Gucci owner Kering, last month put some employees on temporary unemployment, blaming the slump in Russian business. 

Tourism hit

It's been a similar story for airlines, tour groups and hotels with a big exposure to Russia.

Some hotels in Turkey have slashed prices to fill beds after arrivals from Russia dropped by more than 21 per cent in 2014, and by 22 per cent in January.

"We believe that the Russians won't come [to Turkey]," said Markus Daldrup, managing director at German tour operator Alltours, which is offering price cuts of up to 24 per cent on summer trips to Turkey.

Egypt, whose tourism sector gets 30 per cent of its business from Russia, saw a 50 per cent plunge in visits from Russians in December, and another 20 per cent in January year-on-year.

The country waived the $25 visa fee for Russians through the end of April and plans to launch a massive campaign in Russia in the next months to win back customers.

Several airlines, such as Emirates, have responded to the decline in Russian travel abroad by offering fewer flights or seats to the country.

The posh ski resort of Courchevel estimates its Russian clientele has shrunk by 20-30 per cent this year, and those that have come have spent less.

"Before, you would often see Russian clients buying bottles of wine at 6,000 euros, now they only get those for a few hundred euros," said Adeline Roux, head of tourism at the resort.

ISTANBUL — Turkish Central Bank Governor Erdem Basci, a technocrat reluctantly thrust into a standoff with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appears to believe he will eventually ride out the storm.

In his shoes, many bank chiefs might already have quit. Erdogan's relentless demands for sharper interest rate cuts, his assertion that the bank is under outside influence, and his equating of high rates with treason have left Basci struggling to restore investors' confidence.

Yet those close to the former professor, who is respected on financial markets for his command of economic theory, say he is optimistic that Erdogan's rhetoric is little more than populist theatre before a parliamentary election in June.

While reluctant to talk politics even in private, Basci has made clear he does not plan to stand down, saying last month that a public duty must be performed for the full period in which it is assigned.

Economic growth, a pillar of the ruling AK Party's electoral strength over the past decade, is flagging. Industrial production fell more than two per cent in January, data showed on Monday, adding weight to Erdogan's case against Basci.

"He is cornered," said Selin Sayek Boke, deputy chairwoman of the main opposition CHP, who, like Basci, taught economics at Ankara's Bilkent University. 

"If he resigns he is going to be blamed for bringing havoc to the financial markets. If he does not resign, he will be blamed [for stalling growth]," she adeed.

A meeting expected in the coming days between Basci, Erdogan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, in charge of the economy and a close Basci ally, could be crucial.

When the central bank lowered its main rate in January to 7.75 per cent, government ministers immediately said the 50 basis point cut was not enough to support growth.

But with the lira tumbling to record lows last week and inflation stubbornly above target, Basci is likely to try to persuade Erdogan of the need to keep monetary policy tight.

"I think Basci is living under an illusion. He's still not resigning. He's assuming Erdogan can be persuaded and the tension can be eased after the parliamentary election," said one source familiar with the thinking inside the central bank.

Others in the institution fear Erdogan's statements will only intensify and "spin out of control".

"[Some] think this is a political manoeuvre by which Erdogan aims to put the blame for the deterioration in growth and rising inflation on somebody else, and claim that the economy got worse because they didn't listen to him," the source added.

‘Creative technician’ 

Basci's fate is seen as closely tied to that of Babacan, a top figure in Turkey's economic management team for more than a decade and respected by foreign investors.

The two were childhood friends, their fathers were both small business owners in Cikrikcilar, a neighbourhood of artisanal workshops and traders in Ankara's old town. They went on to study together at the city's Middle East Technical University.

"Basci is a smart man who's well aware of what's going on. But the reason he's remaining in office is his personal relations with Babacan," said Ugur Gurses, a former central banker and newspaper columnist.

"He thinks that Babacan will have to endure the consequences of his resignation and he's resisting until the end to avoid this," he told Reuters.

Unable to raise rates because of the political pressure, Basci has been trying to support the lira by other means, on Monday cutting foreign exchange deposit rates, the bank's third back-door attempt since last week to prop up the currency.

"[Basci] has been a creative technician... He tried to please the markets together with the politicians," said the CHP's Boke.

His hands had been tied, she added, by the government's failure to undertake structural reforms to reduce a large current account deficit that has left Turkey dependent on volatile foreign capital flows.

"If they want to avoid the depreciation, they're going to have to hike interest rates... We're an open economy, we haven't resolved our structural issues and clearly we need foreign financing," Boke indicated.

Davutoglu and Babacan spent much of last week in New York, trying  to reassure investors that the outlook for Turkey was bright despite the row over monetary policy.

One bank strategist briefed by colleagues said the delegation had emphasised that there would be no "aggressive reshuffle" of the economic team before June.

But after the election, things will be less certain, particularly if Erdogan pursues his battle against the "Cemaat" network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, an ally-turned-foe whom he accuses of plotting against him through influence in state institutions.

"The central bank and the Treasury are the last fortresses of the Cemaat. A considerable number of people think Basci remains in office due to their support," said the source familiar with central bank thinking. "What kind of steps will be taken for these institutions will be clear after the elections."

Pakistani residents shopping at a Pakistan's biggest mall in Islamabad last week (AFP photo)

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has begun chasing wealthy tax-dodgers who enjoy lives of extravagance and luxury, but revenue officials face huge challenges in trying to force the very richest, and most influential, to pay up.

Pakistan's tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio of 9.5 per cent is among the lowest in the world and the government is under pressure from foreign donors and lenders, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to increase collection to boost the struggling economy.

Revenue authorities say they have identified about a quarter of a million new taxpayers who they project will add around 14 billion rupees ($140 million) to government coffers.

Broadening the tax base and improving the economy after years of drift and sluggish growth under the last government was a key pledge in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's 2013 election campaign, when he was swept to power for a third time.

Currently less than 1 per cent of Pakistanis pay income tax and the government collected just $8 billion in total income tax in the 2013-14 fiscal year, barely enough to cover just the country's defence expenditure of $7 billion.

The finance ministry is aiming to boost the tax-to-GDP ratio to 15 per cent in the current fiscal year ending June 30.

As part of those efforts, the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) is compiling lifestyle and vehicle data to try to trace unregistered taxpayers, including wealthy landlords and businessmen zipping between their luxury homes in imported Mercedes.

"We are collecting information from the vehicle registration authority, car manufacturers, utility companies, telecom companies and property registration offices and tracing people who are not paying any tax," FBR spokesman Shahid Hussain told AFP.

Taxpayer profiles 

The data is used to generate profiles of potential taxpayers, after which demands are issued for them to pay income tax.

"FBR has already issued notices to 261,250 potential tax payers," Hussain indicated, noting that new taxpayers have paid 570 million rupees since the crackdown started.

It is not just dodgy businessmen who have been caught, several lawmakers have been found paying either no tax or very little and not filing their mandatory annual tax statements.

The FBR has taken punitive measures against some "chronic defaulters", freezing nearly 300 bank accounts, seizing more than 100 vehicles, putting 78 properties up for sale and issuing arrest warrants in 40 cases.

"Employing information technology, the FBR is creating a central database which would contain information about all taxpayers and nobody will be left undetected," Hussain said.

A new FBR department tasked with broadening the task net started working in July 2013 and within one year it started showing results, he added.

But Pakistan is a country where wealth and political influence go hand-in-hand. 

For generations, landowners and industrialists have given patronage to political parties and scant attention has been paid to their assets by the taxman.

Changing this privileged arrangement is a tricky proposition.

Umar Cheema, an investigative journalist for Pakistani daily The News who has done several major exposes on tax-dodgers, describes the FBR's commitment as encouraging, but does not expect the campaign to net any big fish.

'War on tax cheats' 

"FBR is after those who can't influence them," Cheema said, citing several well-known tycoons considered among Pakistan's richest whose names were missing from a list of the country's top 100 taxpayers.

"It can be done only by waging a war against tax cheaters without discrimination of good and bad cheaters," he added.

Pakistan's central bank said in a recent report that tax revenue growth was not keeping up with budget targets.

The tax take grew 11.7 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, against an annual target of 26.9 per cent, but this was only half the growth of the same period during the previous fiscal year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The central bank has urged the government to simplify tax procedures and do more to increase the documentation of the economy.

A vast amount of business in Pakistan is done off the books, making transactions hard to trace and levy dues on.

"Although FBR has taken a number of measures to increase tax collection, these focused more on deductions at source, and/or increasing the tax rates," a recent SBP report said, warning such measures had enjoyed "limited success" in the past.

The IMF, though, has said the government's reform programme, tied to a $6.6 billion loan from the Washington-based lender, was on track, and expects growth to accelerate to 4.3 per cent in the 2014-15 fiscal year from 4.1 per cent previously.

But even with growth quickening and officials insisting they are making inroads, challenges to the government's efforts to gather taxes remain considerable.

KUWAIT CITY — World crude prices are expected to gain this year or at least stabilise at between $50 and $60 a barrel, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Ali Al Omair was quoted as saying.

"Forecasts for the oil price this year indicate that it will gain or at least stabilise between $50 and $60 a barrel," the official KUNA news agency quoted Omair as saying late on Saturday in Bahrain.

The minister indicated that prices are currently supported by conflict in Iraq and Libya and by a drop in sand oil and shale oil output. But that is counterbalanced by slow global economic growth, which is dampening demand, Omair said.

World prices dropped at close on Friday as the dollar rose sharply, making dollar-priced crude more expensive for buyers using weaker foreign currencies.

West Texas Intermediate for delivery in April slid $1.15 to $49.61 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, ending near its week-ago level. Brent North Sea crude for April, the international benchmark, dropped 75 cents to $59.73 a barrel in London.