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LONDON — Oil forged fresh 12-year lows Tuesday on global oversupply, prompting Nigeria, a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to call for an emergency meet to address collapsing prices that has ravaged revenues.

In early morning deals, New York's benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery tanked to $30.41 a barrel, which was the lowest level since December 3, 2003.

Europe's Brent North Sea crude for February dived to $30.43, a point last seen on April 6, 2004.

Nigerian Petroleum Resources Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu declared that he expects an extraordinary meeting of the oil group in "early March" to discuss nosediving crude prices.

"We did say that if it [the price] hits the $35 per barrel, we will begin to look [at]... an extraordinary meeting," said Kachikwu, whose term as OPEC president finished in December.

The prices have hit levels that necessitate a meeting, he told an energy forum in Abu Dhabi, but added that he had not yet confirmed with fellow OPEC ministers if they would be willing to attend.

Stopping the slide? 

"The prospect of a meeting is definitely capping losses for the day and driving prices back towards $32, however I cannot see it stopping the slide in the longer term," said analyst James Hughes at trading firm GKFX.

"The call for the meeting is not necessarily a surprise as we have lost almost 20 per cent since the start of the year and are looking to test $20 a barrel," he added.

In midday deals on Tuesday, Brent prices rebounded by 25 cents to $31.82, while WTI clawed back ground to stand at $31.30, down 11 cents from Monday's close.

Saudi-led Gulf exporters within OPEC have so far refused to cut production to curb sliding prices, seeking to protect their market share despite a heavy blow to their revenues.

Kachikwu said member states differ on the issue of intervention.

"One group feels there is a need to intervene. The other group feels even if we did, we are only 30 to 35 per cent of the producers really," as 65 per cent of supply comes from non-OPEC countries, he said at the Gulf Intelligence UAE Energy Forum.

Nigeria, Africa's largest economy and foremost oil producer, has been ravaged by collapsing oil prices in recent years because crude accounts for 90 per cent of the nation's export earnings and 70 per cent of overall government revenue. 

"The reported breakeven price for Nigeria is around $87 a barrel and with the price looking so much weaker it’s no surprise if they are one of the countries asking for a meeting before the next scheduled one in June," said Hughes, noting rumours that other OPEC members also wanted an exceptional gathering.

OPEC refused to slash output at its scheduled production meetings in June and December last year, despite a collapse in prices since July 2014, when the market stood above $100 per barrel.

OPEC's 'big gamble' 

The Saudi-backed policy, and supported really by only OPEC's Gulf members, is aimed at pushing oil prices lower to squeeze US shale producers out of the market. However, it has slammed smaller producing nations like Nigeria and Venezuela.

"OPEC has taken a big gamble that hasn't really worked so far," said analyst Fawad Razaqzada at Gain Capital.

"Essentially, the smaller OPEC members, who are struggling really badly, are unlikely to be able to persuade the Saudis to make a U-turn on its policy of maintaining market share," he added.

The market's dramatic collapse has continued in 2016, as a row between OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and fellow group member Iran dimmed prospects for production cutbacks.

Crude futures plummeted 10 per cent last week, also on fears about the global supply glut and demand weakness in China, the world's biggest energy user.

The rise in the greenback, which makes dollar-priced oil more expensive for holders of weaker currencies, has dented prices as well.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Energy  Minister Suhail Al Mazroui expects a recovery in plummeting oil prices before the end of the year.

"I am personally convinced that before the end of 2016 we're going to see a correction. The market fundamentals tell us this," Mazroui told the energy forum in Abu Dhabi.

The minister said demand for oil had been higher than expected last year.

"The increase in demand, if you look at 2015, was higher than we expected. We said 1.2 [million barrels per day] to 1.25 million, and we ended up with 1.5 [million]," he said.

"That means when oil prices are lower, demand will be higher," he added. "The market will resolve it. I think that's the only fair assessment of the current situation."

According to Mazroui, the decision by Gulf producers to maintain production levels was working to cull excess output.

"I think the strategy is working," he said. "It is a fundamental change... allowing the market to balance itself. If we do something artificial, I don't think that is going to last," in an apparent reference to calls by other OPEC producers to cut output in a bid to support the nosediving prices.

The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, sits on 5.9 per cent of the world's oil reserves and 3.1 per cent of its natural gas.

The oil price slump has seen it and other Gulf states embark on belt-tightening measures to cut spending and boost non-crude revenues.

The UAE took the lead by liberalising fuel prices in June and raised electricity charges in Abu Dhabi.

AMMAN — The local market is open to all commercial and economic activities, with the recent past years witnessing the entry of dozens of trademarks in many sectors, Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) President Issa Murad said Tuesday. 

"The local market also attracts a wide variety of economic activities thanks to the political and security stability of the Kingdom amidst an unstable region," Murad added, noting that the government has recently granted many sectors additional incentives to achieve greater economic benefits.

He also expressed ACC's keenness to boost the participation of new trademarks and to support their activities, while some agents attract international trademarks without considering customers' trends, quality and work locations.

Consumers have wide options due to the availability of many alternatives, especially in the retail sector, Murad said, highlighting that markets' nature, consumers' tastes and consumption trends affect the market activity under high competitiveness controlled by the supply and demand. 

He also explained that differences between agents and international companies can be seen as reasons making companies leave the Kingdom, as was circulated in the case where some trademarks left Amman.

In this regard, the ACC president noted that these companies did not leave due to government procedures rather than for rectifying their status, highlighting that what left the market is only one company owning many international clothes trademarks for reasons related to high prices of some products.

AMMAN — The Egyptian government has imposed non-customs administrative procedures on its imports that would affect Jordan's exports to Egypt, Iyad Abu Haltam, president of the Society of East Amman Industrial Investors, said Tuesday.

Egypt's ministry of commerce and industry late last year issued new regulations for registering qualified factories that can export their products to Cairo, Abu Haltam added, noting these procedures would affect the flow of commodities, especially the Jordanian, and violate the Grand Arab Free Trade Zone Agreement.

He also called on official institutions to address the Egyptians to exclude Jordanian products from these procedures or taking administrative practices to protect national products by applying similar procedures on Egyptian goods.

BERLIN — President Vladimir Putin acknowledged Monday in an interview with German daily Bild that Western economic sanctions over the Ukraine crisis are affecting Russia.

"Concerning our possibilities on the international financial markets, the sanctions are severely harming Russia," he said in a long interview, calling the European Union (EU) sanctions "a theatre of the absurd".

Moscow has been hit by US and European sanctions over the conflict between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces, which has claimed more than 9,000 lives since April 2014.

In late December, the EU extended its sanctions by six months, arguing that the Minsk peace agreement signed by Moscow has not been fully implemented.

Putin said, however, that "the biggest harm is currently caused by the decline of the prices for energy", according to an English-language transcript published by Bild online.

"We suffer dangerous revenue losses in our export of oil and gas, which we can partly compensate for elsewhere," he added.

"But the whole thing also has a positive side: if you earn so many petrodollars, as we once did, that you can buy anything abroad, this slows down developments in your own country," the Russian president elaborated.

Putin said Russia was now "gradually stabilising our economy". 

"Last year, the gross domestic product had dropped by 3.8 per cent. Inflation is approximately 12.7 per cent. The trade balance, however, is still positive," he indicated. "For the first time in many years, we are exporting significantly more goods with a high added value, and we have more than $300 billion in gold reserves."

Separately, Moscow share prices on Monday dropped by more than 5 per cent as Russia's energy-dependent economy reels from low oil prices and fluctuations on the Asian market. 

The dollar-denominated RTS index had dropped by 5.12 per cent at closing, while Russia's battered ruble fell to 76 against the dollar and over 83 against the euro for the first time since the currency slump of December 2014. 

Russia's economy and the ruble have been battered since 2014 by the slide in oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis.

But the continued slump in oil prices, with Brent crude trading below $33 on Monday, and worries over the state of China's economy pummelled Russia's markets and currency as trading began again following a break for the New Year and Orthodox Christmas holidays last week. 

Analysts warned that if the price of oil continues to fall then that could mean even more trouble for Russia's economy just as officials were claiming that it was edging out of recession.  

"If oil prices keep dropping, the ruble could have to continue to adjust itself," analysts from the VTB Capital said. 

The World Bank has said that the full-year downturn for 2015 could have reached 4.3 per cent, given the low oil price, and that Russia is likely to remain in recession for all of 2016.

Experts remain sceptical that even an increase in the price of oil could not salvage the battered Russian
economy in 2016.

"Even a marked rebound in oil prices would be unlikely to spur a return to reasonable rates of economic growth and consumers in particular will remain under pressure," analysts from the Capital Economics research consultancy said. 

Russia's finance minister predicted last month that 2016 would be a difficult year for his country's recession-hit economy, already reeling from low oil prices.

"2016 will not be simple," Anton Siluanov said in an interview with Russian state television. "The latest predictions show that the price of our main exports could be lower than predicted."

The country's 2016 budget had been calculated on an oil price of $50 per barrel, a figure President Putin said was an "optimistic" assessment of the situation.

Siluanov predicted the oil price would stay around $40 per barrel on average, and that spending cuts and privatisation measures would be integrated into the budget.

The Russian government has forecast the country's gross domestic product would increase 0.7 per cent next year, after falling 3.7 per cent in 2015. 

AMMAN — Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) President Issa Murad on Monday called on the government to extend exempting fines on taxpayers from sales and income taxes. He said that extending the exemption period would contribute to continuing receiving tax revenues and encouraging institutions to pay their taxes without any fines, especially under the deteriorating commercial activity and scarce liquidity.

In a memo sent to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, Murad underscored the importance of boosting private-public cooperation in this phase to stimulate economic activities and increase the pace of growth. The decisions include ways to collect cumulative public money from previous years, where taxpayers are exempted from fines and legal interests once they pay the original sum.

AMMAN — Exports from the East Amman Industrial Zone in 2015 dropped by 6 per cent compared to 2014, as some main markets closed and international commercial demand weakened.

Exports of the zone last year stood at JD321 million compared to JD343 million during 2014, according to a statistics report from the Eastern Amman Investors Industrial Association.

Chairman of the association, Iyad Abu Haltam, said the drop is mostly in manufacturing industries as a result of a decrease in exports to Iraq, Egypt and Libya in light of political and security conditions there, in addition to Algeria, which is not committed to the Greater Arab Free Trade Area and collects fees amounting to 30 per cent.

Abu Haltam added that exports to the US, Europe and some non-Arab Asian countries decreased as well because of weaker demand on products resulting from the regression in world economy.

Supplies, food, agricultural and animal products exports stood at JD95 million followed by chemical industries and cosmetics at JD60 million, and then the engineering, electricity and information technology sector at JD41 million. 

DAMASCUS — In his cramped workshop in Damascus, Mohammad Abdallah delicately etches away at wooden panels inlaid with mother-of-pearl, a craft he perfected over a decade before the outbreak of Syria's war.

As he worked, Abdallah expressed concern that his craft, the intricate process of filling carved wooden decorative pieces with shells, bone, or ivory, could be forced into "extinction" by the conflict raging across his country.

"I worry for the fate of the Damascene mother-of-pearl craft because of the lack of labour and the difficulty in acquiring and transporting raw materials," the 43-year-old said.

Like many other craftsmen, Abdallah was forced to abandon his spacious warehouse on the outskirts of Damascus when fighting broke out.

"My heart aches because the mother-of-pearl workshops in Damascus and its outskirts have dropped from 30 to only three or four workshops," he added.

His own workforce "has faded in recent years because the labourers have joined the fighting or have fled" Syria altogether.

And local purchasers, stung by the devaluation of the Syrian pound, can no longer afford the stunning designs, he continued.

Since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011, more than 260,000 people have been killed and millions have fled their homes.

But the war has also taken a toll on the country's renowned traditional craft, from ornate wooden furniture to the rich, golden stitching of its famed brocade fabrics.

Dearth of craftsmen 

The artisanal designs were popular among tourists, who generated about 12 per cent of Syria's pre-war gross domestic product.

But with tourism virtually nonexistent and travel across the country growing more difficult by the day, craftsmen in Damascus are in despair.

Traditional cultural products in Syria, from songs and poetry to beautiful handicrafts, "have been completely damaged by the crisis", said Mohammad Fayyad, a researcher on cultural heritage.

"If the situation continues like this, there will be no more craftsmen" left in Syria, Fayyad told AFP.

In 2009, Syrian craftsmen registered with the national union had numbered some 18,000, alongside an estimated 39,000 who were unregistered, Fayyad indicated.

By the end of 2015, between 70 and 80 per cent had left the trade, many emigrating after the destruction of their workshops around Damascus and in the northern city of Aleppo, another handicrafts hub, according to Fayyad.

Fabric specialist Samer Al Nuqta contemplates the vibrant pieces of cloth on wooden shelves in his workshop, which dates back to 1929 and stands in the famed Hamidiyeh market's "tailor row".

He said he doesn't know what has happened to his factory in Ain Tarma, on the outskirts of Damascus.

"We haven't produced a single metre for about five years. Right now, we're selling what we had in store in the warehouse," he added.

"I will sell what we have left in store, and after that I may be forced to change my trade, which I grew up on," Nuqta continued.

Bahaa Al Takriti, who weaves the richly embroidered aghbani cloths often used as tablecloths, says his "weekly production has dropped from 60 covers to six, and sometimes only three".

"Out of six people that knew how to set the designs, only two are left," Takriti lamented.

British queen's wedding fabric 

As it nears a sixth year, Syria's conflict has also diminished the production of Damascene brocade, handwoven silk fabric ornately decorated with brightly coloured thread.

Brocade became world-famous when former Syrian president Shukri Al Quwatli gifted a slot of the fabric in 1947 to the future Queen Elizabeth II, who used it as part of her wedding gown.

But few foreigners now come to Damascus to purchase the lavish cloth, and Syrian buyers can no longer afford it.

Ibrahim Al Ayubi, who has produced brocade in the Syrian capital for decades, said good quality silk is hard to come by, and anyway, the price has gone up "tenfold".

"The crisis had a really big effect on us because of the lack of tourists, who made up about 95 per cent of our customers," Ayubi indicated.

And in the corner of Ahmad Shakaki's brocade shop in Damascus, a large wooden loom stands next to a small stool made of coloured bamboo.

Narrow shelves display the elegant brocade fabric that Shakaki painstakingly produces.

"Our craft [is] essentially dependent on our sales returns, which in turn depend on tourists. Our situation is tough now, and we're working with whatever we have," Shakaki said.

"The war has made the new generation reluctant to learn the trade," he added. "I am worried that this loom will stop weaving."

Separately, Saad Chouihna believes that if you can make it in Turkey, you can make it anywhere.

"The Turkish market is the hardest," said the 28-year-old Syrian from the city of Aleppo, bemoaning the tangled bureaucracy, cut-throat competition and a business culture that depends on long-term relationships.

But armed with a knowledge of Turkish and the local culture, Chouihna is finding his way.

He has opened a branch of his family's plastics business in the southeastern city of Gaziantep, where the many Syrian restaurants and Arabic signs in some districts bear witness to the proximity of the border and the growing Syrian population.

His firm is one of nearly 2,000 set up by Syrians in Turkey in the almost five years since their homeland descended into civil war. 

A quarter of a million people have been killed since then and millions more displaced, with Turkey now home to 2.2 million Syrians, the world's largest refugee population.

"Our business is plastic — that's what we know," Chouihna said. "But the established companies here have the contacts and experience locally so as a new company here it is really hard to get contacts or get contracts from big medical companies, for example. A lot of them don't even come to the phone."

But Chouihna, who has a wife and baby daughter, said he saw "no difference between me and a Turkish company" because he employs Turks as well as Syrians and pays his taxes.

Some Turks concerned

In November, Ankara promised to help stem the flow of refugees trying to reach Europe in return for $3.2 billion in aid and renewed talks on joining the European Union.

Ankara has spent more than $8.5 billion on feeding and housing Syrian refugees since the start of the war, but has yet to introduce a policy to allow them to work legally.

Echoing concerns voiced in other countries about the flow of refugees, lower-income Turks fear that Syrians, including the estimated 250,000 now working illegally in Turkey, will undercut them and take their jobs. But data suggest Syrians such as Chouihna are a boost for the Turkish economy.

According to TOBB, an umbrella body for local chambers of commerce, more than 1,000 companies were established in Turkey with at least one Syrian partner in the first seven months of 2015, compared with 30 in 2010, before the start of the war.

Although there is no estimate yet of the increase in output from these firms, economists say they have boosted trade with Syria in parts of Turkey where instability and violence in border areas have dented trade with neighbours.

"There has been a big jump in the numbers of businesses founded by Syrians probably because they are finally realising they are likely to remain in Turkey for many more years," said Esra Ozpinar, a researcher from economic think tank TEPAV.

Boost to exports

In Gaziantep, new buildings have sprung up beside the city's mediaeval fortress and old market, thanks to modern investments and economic incentives offered by the government which have helped it become an economic hub and the most industrialised city in Turkey's south.

Chouihna exports to Egypt, Lebanon, Romania, Tunisia and Yemen and does some trade in Turkey. He also sells his products in Syria, helping Turkey's exports to its neighbour get back close to their pre-war levels.

Turkish exports to Syria dipped in 2011 and 2012, but have recovered significantly. 

In the first 10 months of 2015, Turkey exported $1.3 billion in goods and services there, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, compared to less than half a billion dollars in 2012.

TEPAV research suggests the rising number of Syrian firms in border provinces such as Kilis, Mardin and Hatay has helped the recovery in exports. But their composition has changed, reflecting the needs of a war economy, with food, generators and pickup trucks eclipsing building materials and cars.

According to economist Harun Ozturkler of the Centre For Middle Eastern Strategic Studies in Ankara, these businesses could in the long term be crucial to the Turkish economy.

"The most important contribution will be their network in the Arab world because the owners of these firms were merchants in Syria," he indicated. "Finding new markets for Turkey is going to be the most important."

But there is animosity in Gaziantep among some businessmen who see firms like Chouihna's as a threat.

"We know there are many unregistered firms and they cause unfair competition," said the chamber's communications chief, Senay Copur.

"The advantage is they [Syrian firms] are serving generally their own citizens and create employment opportunities," she said, adding that efforts were under way to bring such companies into the tax system.

Chouihna said the authorities turn a blind eye to his Syrian staff since he also employs some Turks, but he would rather they were officially documented.

Another Syrian living in Gaziantep, Abu Tareq, said he had found investors for his plan to start a company producing $1 million worth a year of refrigerators for restaurants, food stores and factories.

He plans to base his firm in the same industrial district as Chouihna's and intends to hire 14 people, the majority of whom will be Syrian, he added.

After working in the same business in Syria, he saw an opportunity in the Turkish market.

"There are business options here for Syrians and I realised I will be here for a long time," he said.

KABUL — Afghan software entrepreneur Farshid Ghyasi, chief executive of the Netlinks company, is struggling to keep his best employees, as more plan to join a wave of migrants leaving for Europe that risks causing long-term damage to the country and its economy.

He is not alone in bemoaning the mass exodus, triggered by poor job prospects and worsening security as Taliban insurgents grow more powerful after the bulk of NATO troops withdrew at the end of 2014.

Many of those going are young city dwellers who should be spending their productive years at home as their country struggles to emerge from war, and nearly 15 years of international support, to build a self-sustaining economy.

"It's a huge loss," said Ahmed Siar Khoreishi, an economist and chief executive of Ghazanfar Bank. "The majority of these people are under the age of 30. This is really scary, we have very limited qualified, specialist people."

There are no accurate figures for the number of Afghans who leave each year in search of a better life abroad, but more than 160,000 have gone to Europe this year, UNHCR data show. The majority of those have been in the last few months.

"It's not necessarily everyone with master's degrees, but you have a large number of youth, the most dynamic, potentially productive strata of society, who are leaving," indicated Richard Danziger of the International Organisation for Migration.

The exodus has put pressure on the Afghan currency, the central bank says, but Khoreishi says that's not the problem.

"The most important factor is the workforce. The brains are leaving," he said.

A 30-year-old Kabul University law graduate seems typical of those heading off.

"I know it isn't good for the country, but I've got my own life," said the man with a trim beard and Western clothes, who declined to be identified.

He has a good job in a law firm but said he has been threatened because of an old job with NATO forces. He hopes to set off overland to Europe within days.

"I know the difficulties I'll face, but it's a final decision," he added.

The government has urged young people to stay, but such calls ring hollow for many Afghans who know children of the elite are mostly abroad. President Ashraf Ghani said this month that rich children who study overseas should pursue careers at home.

"If they live abroad they become dishwashers. They don't become part of the middle class," he told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle in an interview.

‘Hope for the future’

While many take the overland route to Europe, some better-off Afghans fly out on visas to study or go to conferences and don't come back.

Esmat Gulistani, director of a marble industry organisation, noted that his sector had been hit by the disappearance of up-and-coming professionals.

"Those new managers were the hope for the future, not only of the industry but the country. They know computers, they know languages, they know the new system, how to do business," Gulistani said.

"They are fleeing and that's really a problem. Replacement isn't impossible, but a very difficult and lengthy process," he added.

Gulistani noted that he regularly turns down people asking to go to trade shows abroad because he fears they will not return.

Netlinks' Ghyasi said four employees had gone and another 20, including some of the best in his 160-strong workforce, were planning to go. He said he could only wish them luck.

"Whoever gets an opportunity leaves," Ghyasi added in his Kabul office.

With job opportunities withering as big aid projects are wound up, Ghyasi said he had no trouble finding replacements.

"Twenty people going means 20 opportunities for new people," he added.

The government does not have reliable unemployment data but economists estimate the rate has risen to about 40 per cent.

One advantage of the departures, economists say, is that in the future Afghans overseas are likely to send remittance payments back home, helping to stabilise the country's finances.

The government was trying to stem the flow with a jobs programme and information campaigns, said Deputy Minister of Labour Ahmad Shah Salehi.

"They should trust the government, they have to be patient," Salehi told Reuters.

But for Kabul University student Nisar Ahmed, it was not trust, but a job in an upmarket food shop paying $170 a month, that persuaded him to put off his departure, at least for now.

"I was not sure about the future. No one knows what will happen tomorrow. But the most important reason is I was jobless," Ahmed said. "If I can't find good work, maybe I'll think again."

FRANKFURT — German top-of-the-range carmakers Audi and Mercedes-Benz on Friday reported record sales in 2015, even holding their own in China despite difficult market conditions. 

Mercedes-Benz, flagship brand of Daimler, indicated that it sold 1.872 million vehicles worldwide last year, an increase of 13.4 per cent over the previous year.

Rival Audi, the high-end brand of embattled auto giant Volkswagen, said it sold 1.803 million cars, up 3.6 per cent year-on-year.

"Last year, we sold more cars than ever before," said Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche. 

"We were able to increase our unit sales in all three core regions — Europe, NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] and Asia-Pacific. And with 373,459 units sold, China developed into our biggest individual market worldwide in 2015. With growth there of 32.6 per cent, Mercedes-Benz grew significantly faster than the overall automobile market," Zetsche added. 

Daimler said Mercedes-Benz launched more than 15 new or updated models in China last year, where it also expanded the dealer network to approximately 500 dealerships. 

Local production capacities were also expanded.

At Audi, which has been affected by the massive pollution-cheating scandal that has engulfed its parent company VW, sales growth was more modest. 

"2015 has proved that Audi is solidly on track and that we are able to master a year that presented various challenges very successfully," said Chief Executive Rupert Stadler. 

In China, Audi's sales slipped by 1.4 per cent to 570,889, but the level was still "very high", Stadler insisted. 

"Over the course of the next months, [we] will introduce various new models throughout our Chinese product portfolio: by the summer of 2016, successors will be launched for models that represent around 60 per cent of total Audi sales in China," Audi said. 

Embattled German auto giant Volkswagen (VW) Friday posted its first drop in sales in over a decade, as it struggled to recover from a massive pollution cheating scandal.

Sales of vehicles bearing the Volkswagen badge fell 5 per cent to 5.82 million, the company indicated, marking the first such decline in 11 years.

Overall VW group sales, which also include brands like Audi, Porsche and Skoda, reached 9.93 million, 2 per cent less than a year ago and the first fall since 2002.

"Almost 10 million vehicles sold, that's an excellent result given a difficult situation in certain regions and for diesel in the last quarter," said Chief Executive Matthias Mueller.

He acknowledged that challenges await in 2016, and said the company needed to be "more efficient for a successful future".

Volkswagen sank into its biggest crisis over its stunning revelations in September that it had fitted 11 million of its vehicles with devices designed to cheat pollution tests.

Last week, the US government said it was sueing VW for $20 billion (18 billion euros) in civil penalties.

Mueller is travelling to the United States where he will attend a media reception in Detroit on Sunday.

He has vowed to press on with the company's diesel marketing offensive in the US despite the government lawsuit. 

Separately, industry experts said on Thursday that Europe's second biggest auto market Britain recorded its highest ever car sales in 2015, but the continent will likely need a continued recovery in southern European markets to drive growth this year.

Western European new car registrations rose 9 per cent to 13.2 million in 2015 based on national data and estimates compiled by LMC Automotive, with cheap credit boosting British sales.

However, Britain's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders forecast 2016 registrations would be roughly flat, and analysts predicted western European growth would need to come largely from further recovery in Mediterranean countries.

"We're going for 5 per cent growth [in western Europe in 2016] and that's largely focused in southern Europe and partly in France," Exane BNP Paribas analyst Dominic O'Brien told Reuters, citing Italy and Spain as key growth areas.

The two countries recorded the biggest rises among the five major western European markets last year, with Italian sales up 16 per cent and Spanish sales up 21 per cent, according to LMC.

Spain's economy has shown signs of a recovery over recent months, though an inconclusive election result in December could jeopardise growth. Italy's economy also improved in 2015.

O'Brien said French carmaker Renault and Germany's Daimler were likely to be among the best performers this year.

"You've still got quite good sales momentum at [Daimler-owned] Mercedes... and Renault are launching new cars in new segments at the moment," he said, pointing to the new Megane and Scenic models due this year.

In Britain, cheap credit, rising consumer confidence, falling unemployment and low inflation all helped to bolster sales, which rose 6.3 per cent to 2.63 million in 2015, beating a previous record set in 2003.

But most economists polled by Reuters expect the Bank of England to raise interest rates in the second quarter of this year for the first time since before the financial crisis, making it more costly to meet repayments on car purchases.

Sales of Volkswagen-branded cars in Britain, which fell 10 per cent in October and 20 per cent November in the aftermath of firm's diesel emissions test cheating scandal, recovered somewhat in December, recording a fall of 0.4 per cent.

VW brand Seat performed the worst of the German carmaker's major brands last month, falling 46 per cent, ending the year down 11 per cent.

Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said there was less loyalty to the formerly Spanish brand, forecasting Seat's western European sales would be flat or fall next year.

However, he predicted VW group sales would rise 2 per cent, with the namesake VW brand seeing some difficulties at the start of the year but ending it flat due to strong customer loyalty.

"The VW brand behaves amazingly strongly but... there are still going to be some hiccups at the beginning of the year because you will still see the cancelling of orders from fleet for instance will only impact registrations early this year."

NEW YORK — Boeing aircraft orders fell by nearly half in 2015 even as deliveries rose to an annual record, the aerospace giant said last week.

Boeing indicated that net orders for new commercial aircraft dropped to 768 last year from 1,432 in 2014, putting it behind rival Airbus, which is expected to report well over 1,000 orders for last year.

But, encouraged by continued healthy passenger growth in the airline industry and sharply lower fuel prices, Boeing was able to step up production and increase commercial aircraft deliveries to 762, slightly above its own forecasts and bettering the previous record of 723 deliveries in 2014.

In deliveries, Boeing was expected to best Airbus, which appeared on track to turn over about 635 aircraft to customers for the whole of 2015, up just six from a year earlier. The European company is slated to publish its figures on January 12.

The deliveries underscore another likely banner year for the Chicago-based Boeing's earnings. Full-year financial numbers will not be released for several more weeks, but third-quarter revenues were up 8.7 per cent from a year earlier and net earnings were 25.1 per cent higher.

Boeing has forecast 2015 revenues for its Commercial Airplanes division in a $65-66 billion range, up from $60 billion in 2014.

"We had a solid year of orders in 2015, maintaining a strong, balanced backlog that will help ensure a steady stream of deliveries for years to come," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and Chief Executive Ray Conner.

Large order backlog       

Boeing highlighted its delivery record on Thursday, as a metric of performance that represents firm, paid-for orders.

Deliveries have taken on more importance because both Boeing and Airbus have large order backlogs that have raised questions about their capacity to keep to their respective production calendars.

On December 31, 2015, Boeing's backlog of orders stood at 5,795, representing more than seven and a half years of production at the current rate.

Both manufacturers have boosted the pace of production of their medium- and long-range aircraft to keep up with demand.

Boeing has ramped up production by 60 per cent over the past five years. The company said on Thursday it would step up the current pace of 63 aircraft per month to more than 70 in 2017.

Output of its popular 737 passenger jet will rise from 42 per month to 52 a month in 2018.

Production of the 787 Dreamliner, built largely with lightweight composite materials that reduce fuel use, will rise from a current 10 per month rate to 14 by 2020.

"Our team did a fantastic job achieving higher deliveries and getting our products to our customers as quickly and efficiently as possible. This will continue to be our focus," Conner said.

While it was likely Boeing will beat Airbus in deliveries in 2015, the France-based rival will outshine in net orders.

As of November 30, 2015, Airbus, which set an industry record with 1,503 orders in 2013, had booked 1,007 net orders thanks largely to its best-selling A320, which dominates the medium-range market.