German car maker Opel, a unit of US giant General Motors, will reduce its production level next year and is mulling a 30-hour work week, directors told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

`We are getting set for tough times and revising lower by around 10 percent our (output) volume forecasts for 2009,` Hans Demant said in comments published on Tuesday.

German car maker Opel, a unit of US giant General Motors, will reduce its production level next year and is mulling a 30-hour work week, directors told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

`We are getting set for tough times and revising lower by around 10 percent our (output) volume forecasts for 2009,` Hans Demant said in comments published on Tuesday.

LONDON, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - Global oil supplies will drop more than half by 2030 after peaking last year, an independent scientific group said in an energy report published on Monday.

'World oil production has peaked in 2006,' the German-based Energy Watch Group (EWG) said in a report unveiled in London.

'Production will start to decline at a rate of several percent per year. By 2020, and even more by 2030, global oil supply will be dramatically lower.

MILAN, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Industrial output showed a sharp gain in Italy in August and a much more modest advance in France, official figures revealed Wednesday.

Italian industrial output jumped 1.3 percent in August from July, when production rose just 0.3 percent, the national statistics body Istat said.

The performance eclipsed predictions by analysts, who had foreseen a monthly gain limited to 0.6 percent.

FRANKFURT, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - German industrial output rebounded in August, provisional figures showed Tuesday, underpinning forecasts for solid quarterly growth in the 13-nation eurozone, economists said.

Industrial production expanded on a monthly basis by a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent, much stronger than the revised July figure of 0.2 percent, economy ministry figures indicated.

The result 'showed that the German economy is back on track,' although its 'heyday' had probably passed, HypoVereinsbank (HVB) analyst Andreas Rees said.

BERLIN, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - German producer prices, the price of goods at the factory gate, increased by an annualised 1.0 percent in August, the federal statistics office Destatis said on Wednesday.

The pace at which wholesale prices have risen has nonetheless eased in recent months, edging lower from 1.9 percent in May to 1.7 percent in June and 1.1 percent in July.

That was largely the result of energy prices, which fell by 3.5 percent in August compared with the same month a year earlier, and by 0.5 percent from July.

MOSCOW, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - Industrial production in Russia slowed sharply to 3.8 percent in August on an annual basis from 7.8 percent in July, the country's statistics agency Rosstat said on Tuesday.

The figures disappointed analysts who had forecast growth of 7.6 percent in line with previous months, Interfax news agency said.

Industrial output had grown by 10.9 in June and 6.7 percent in May.

The August figure is the weakest year-on-year industrial production rate since January.

BEIJING, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - China's industrial output eased during August in a sign that efforts to curb growth were kicking in, official data showed Thursday, but the government was expected to continue its tightening policies.

Production at plants and factories across China was up 17.5 percent last month from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

BEIJING, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - China's industrial output growth eased to 17.5 percent in August from the same month a year ago, official data showed Thursday.

In July, industrial output rose 18 percent from a year earlier, while in June it was up 19.4 percent, according to previously published statistics.

Auto production expanded at a less steep rate in August than in July, according to Thursday's data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Production of passenger cars increased 17.1 percent in August, down from 27.9 percent growth in July, the bureau said.

PARIS, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - The International Energy Agency lowered its predictions of global oil demand Wednesday for both this year and next and warned that financial markets turbulence could force it to again revise its forecast.

The IEA, which acts as energy policy advisor to industrialised countries, reduced its demand forecast to 85.9 million barrels per day in 2007 and 88 million bpd in 2008 from its prediction last month of 86 and 88.2 million bpd respectively.

PARIS, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - French industrial production, powered by a sharp recovery in the auto sector, rebounded in July, but analysts said the gain did not justify an increase in their economic growth projections this year.

The national statistics institute INSEE reported Monday that industrial output rose 1.3 percent in July from June, when production declined 0.6 percent.

Manufacturing production, which excludes the energy and food sectors, rose 1.5 percent in July from the previous month.

BERLIN, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - German industrial production grew by a slight 0.1 percent in July, less than expected by analysts, following a drop of 0.2 percent in June, preliminary data corrected for seasonal variations showed on Friday.

A poll by Thomson Financial News had indicated that analysts were hoping for a rise of 0.8 percent.

On a 12-month basis, industrial output in Germany, the biggest eurozone economy, expanded by 4.9 percent, which was slightly better than forecast, figures released by the economy ministry showed.

LONDON, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - Britain's manufactured output fell in July from the previous month, with big falls in transport industries, official data showed Thursday.

Manufactured production sank by 0.3 percent in July from June, but rose by 0.8 percent on a 12-month basis, the Office for National Statistics said.

Within the manufacturing sector, output in the transport equipment industry fell 2.6 percent in July from June -- the weakest since Oct 2005. This sector includes shipbuilding and aircraft manufacturing.

SEOUL, Aug 29, 2007 (AFP) - South Korea's industrial output grew 14.3 percent year-on-year in July, reinforcing optimism that the economy will stay on an upward trend, official data showed Wednesday.

July's faster-than-expected growth, driven by strong exports of semiconductors, liquid crystal display panels and mobile phones, followed a 7.7 percent rise in June, the Korea National Statistical Office said.

Auto production increased 38.1 percent year-on-year in July while production of semiconductors rose 26.2 percent.

BEIJING, Aug 15, 2007 (AFP) - China's industrial output growth eased to 18 percent in July from the same month a year ago, official data showed Wednesday, suggesting new curbs on polluting enterprises might have had an impact.

In June, industrial output had seen a rise of 19.4 percent from a year earlier, according to previously published statistics.

'This is partly due to the government's efforts to curb production that is either highly energy-consuming or very polluting,' said Ma Qing, a Beijing-based economist with research company CEB Monitor Group.

PRAGUE, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - Industrial production in the Czech Republic rose by 1.0 percent in June from the previous month, according to seasonally adjusted figures released Monday by the Czech national statistics office.

On an annual basis, production in June was up 6.9 percent, after rising 7.5 percent in May.

Transport equipment, electronic and optic devices led industrial production in June as well as the manufacture and repair of machinery, it said.

BERLIN, Aug 7, 2007 (AFP) - Industrial production in Germany fell by 0.4 percent in June on a monthly basis after rising in May, preliminary data corrected for seasonal variations showed on Tuesday.

The fall took analysts by surprise.

A poll by Thomson Financial News had shown analysts were expecting a rise of 0.5 percent.

Production had increased by 1.9 percent in May, final data from the German Economy Minstry showed.

LONDON, Aug 6, 2007 (AFP) - Britain's manufactured output rose for a fourth month running in June, despite a strong pound and rising British interest rates, official data showed on Monday.

Manufactured production climbed by 0.2 percent in June from May and by 0.9 percent on a 12-month basis, the Office for National Statistics said.

While the month-on-month rise matched analysts' consensus forecast, the annual increase was below market expectations of 1.0 percent.

BRUSSELS, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - Manufacturing and service sector activity in the 13-nations sharing the euro softened marginally in July but held firmly above long-term trends, according to a survey on Tuesday.

First results for NTC Research`s survey of business leaders showed a dip to 57.3 points in July, down from 57.8 points and slightly below economists` expectations for 57.5 points.

LONDON, July 23, 2007 (AFP) - World oil prices, which are at near record peaks, will surge higher unless OPEC increases output, the Centre for Global Energy Studies said on Monday.

'Without more OPEC oil, prices will continue to rise in the coming months,' the research group said in a monthly report.

In London afternoon trade on Monday, Brent North Sea crude for September delivery dropped 47 cents to 77.17 dollars per barrel -- under two dollars short of its record high of 78.64 dollars.