Oil prices have stabilized in world markets and demand is likely to increase in the second half of the year, Indonesia’s Mines and Energy Minister Subroto said. He told a meeting of oil industry executives that oil prices had stabilized at 18 dlrs a barrel – the average fixed price OPEC put into effect in February – and supply and demand have been in equilibrium since March. If OPEC does not increase overall output in the second half of the year, prices will tend to increase, because non-OPEC producers have not been able to produce more oil at current prices, he said.

Saudi riyal interbank deposits were mainly steady at yesterday"s higher levels in a market which saw little activity due to the European weekend, dealers said. They said banks in the kingdom offered two and three month deposits 1/16 of a percentage point lower, but there were few takers. Rates for short-dated and other fixed period funds were little changed following their sharp rise on Saturday brought on by higher eurodollar deposit rates.

The World Bank, citing Pakistan"s progress in its economic performance and fiscal policy reforms, said it had agreed a 2.4 billion dlr aid programme for 1988. The bank said in a statement “substantial increases” had been approved to help fund support for refugees from neighbouring Afghanistan. But the bank said it had expressed serious concern at Pakistan"s budget. “This year"s overall budget deficit is expected to be larger than either either last year"s outcome or the amount originally budgeted (for 1987),” it added.

The New York Mercantile Exchange, NYMEX, has adequate trade practice surveillance and disciplinary programs, but could take steps to improve them, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC, said. In a rule enforcement review, CFTC said NYMEX was able to identify possible “violative market activity” and that investigations were generally thorough. However, the commission faulted the exchange for limiting access to its computer-assisted trade practice surveillance system and recommended NYMEX enhance its computerized surveillance system.

mexico’s minister of energy and mines, alfredo del mazo, has yet to reply to a peruvian invitation for ministerial-level talks on bilateral cooperation in silver marketing, a ministry spokesman said. Peruvian officials said they extended the invitation earlier this week and that it was possible the talks could be held within the next 15 days. Meanwhile, a banco de mexico spokesman confirmed that mexican central bank head miguel mancera aguayo held private talks here yesterday with the president of the peruvian central bank leonel figueroa.

The Bundesbank is trying to keep monetary policy tight in order to counter inflationary tendencies, Bundesbank Vice-President Helmut Schlesinger was quoted as saying. “We are trying to keep the monetary framework tight, so that inflationary pressures cannot develop,” he told the Frankfurter Neue Presse daily in an interview. “Central bank money stock does not have to be reduced because of this, but it must continue to grow modestly,” he said.

The Farm Credit System will need 3-4.5 billion dlrs in federal assistance to cover losses over the next three years, a member of the board of the System’s regulatory agency said. Jim Billington, member of the three-person board of directors of the Farm Credit Administration, said he intended to ask the board on May 5 to vote to certify that the ailing farm lending network needs federal aid. Billington, the sole Democrat on the board, said the System would need federal aid sooner than suggested by a FCA report, which said assistance would be required by the end of 1987.

Unemployment in the European Community fell in March to 16.8 mln from 17 mln in February thanks to an improvement in the weather, the EC’s statistics agency Eurostat said. It said the number of jobless fell in all 12 Community member states as weather conditions improved, though France, Italy and Spain saw declines of less than one pct. There was also a particularly large drop in the number of jobless under-25s in all states except Italy, where 19,300 more young people were unemployed in March than in the month before.

Japan’s gross national product (gnp) rose a real 1.2 pct in the January/March quarter after a downwardly revised 0.7 pct increase in the previous three months, the Economic Planning Agency said. The October/December rise was originally put at 0.8 pct. For the fiscal year ended last March 31, gnp rose 2.6 pct, after a 4.3 pct increase in 1985/86. Last year’s performance was the worst since 1974/75, when gnp contracted by 0.

Commission house livestock analysts agreed with Chicago Mercantile Exchange floor traders in calling today’s USDA 13-state quarterly cattle on feed report and cold storage report for pork bellies negative. June live cattle futures are called 0.20 to 0.50 cent lower on Monday and back months of cattle are expected 0.50 to 1.00 cent lower. Pork bellies are expected 0.50 to 1.00 cent or more lower, the analysts said. Disappointment was voiced over the placement and total on feed figures in the cattle report.