Israel’s inflation rate for May was 0.6 pct, the lowest since last July when there was no increase, the Central Bureau of Statistics said. In April, inflation was 2.2 pct and the figure for May last year was 1.6 pct. The rate for the first five months of 1987 was 7.5 pct, the bureau said. The annual inflation rate for the past 12 months was 20.3 pct, a bureau spokesman said.

Noranda Inc said production at its Murdochville, Quebec copper mine was shut down by the fire that broke out last night, trapping 44 miners and killing one. Noranda spokesman Denis Morin said it was impossible to judge how long the shutdown might last but said he thought it could be at least one week. The mine produced 1,792,000 tonnes of ore in 1986, Morin said. It has a mineral inventory of 35,065,000 tonnes.

A shift in the European Community’s attitude to exports led to West German producers withdrawing sugar sold into intervention, industry sources said. The sources noted the withdrawal followed a rise in maximum Commission restitutions to within 0.5 European currency units, Ecus, per 100 kilos of the level traders claim is needed to match intervention prices. One source said, “This was taken as a sign that the Community was taking a more favourable stance towards exports.

The Commodity Credit Crporation has accepted a bid for an export bonus to cover the sale of 8,000 tonnes of hard red winter wheat to Zaire, the U.S. Agriculture Department said. The wheat is scheduled for shipment May 11-June 11, 1987, the department said. The bonus, to Continental Grain Co, was 32.55 dlrs per tonne and will be paid in the form of commodities from CCC stocks. An additional 7,000 tonnes of wheat are still available to Zaire under the Export Enhancement program initiative announced on October 17, 1986, it said.

The premiers of Canada’s eastern provinces and the governors of America’s New England states urged development of Canada’s offshore oil and gas fields and construction of a pipeline from Nova Scotia to New England. Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford, speaking to the annual conference of New England and eastern Canadian leaders, said development would prevent a repetition of the energy crisis of the early 1970s. The group also agreed to discuss energy and security of supply next spring.

South Korea has cut loans to exporting companies to help reduce the growing trade surplus with the United States and the European Community, finance ministry officials said. They said two billion dlrs worth of foreign currency loans would be available to firms willing to import industrial facilities, and 500 mln dlrs for those importing raw and intermediary materials and parts. Exporters, who previously received 645 won (0.769 dlrs) for each dollar’s worth of overseas orders, will now get only 575 won (0.

China’s textile exports in the first quarter reached a record 2.2 billion dlrs, an increase of 49 pct on the year-earlier period, the People’s Daily said. Its overseas edition gave no country breakdown. The U.S. Is one of China’s largest markets for textiles. U.S. Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige told a press conference that Chinese textile and apparel exports to the U.S. In 1986 rose 65 pct in value from the 1985 level, a rate of growth that “is not sustainable nor equitable to our other major foreign suppliers.

Compagnie Financiere de Credit Industriel et Commercial is raising 255 mln marks through a six-year floating rate note (FRN) carrying a coupon of 1/8 point over six-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and priced at 100.05, lead manager Morgan Stanley GmbH said. The bullet bond will be sold in denominations 10,000 and 250,000 marks and listed in Frankfurt. It matures on March 20, 1993. Payment date will be July 20, 1987.

a senior economist predicted the u.s. dollar would decline another 30 pct by year-end, but said he foresees no significant change in u.s. interest rates. “the market recognizes another 30 pct dollar depreciation is necessary,” said rudiger dornbush of the massachusetts institute of technology. he said the only thing preventing the dollar from dropping far below current levels was intervention by central banks in definace of market forces. he said artifical support of the dollar had put the world’s financial markets in an “excessively volatile” position, however, and predicted that within about four months “it is going to be very difficult to keep the dollar in place.

Volkswagen of America said it will shut down its U.S. car assembly plant for two weeks and idle 1,650 workers. The wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen A.G. said the facility will be closed for two weeks starting today to adjust inventories. The 1,650 hourly workers will be laid off until May 11. Volkswagen’s sales of U.S.-made cars this year have dropped sharply below last year’s figures, a spokeswoman said. So far this year, sales are down nearly 40 pct compared to last year.