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Light, sweet crude for September delivery dropped $1.27, or 3%, to $41.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

U.S. September crude was down $1.85 at $40.77 a barrel at 11:41 a.m. EDT (1541 GMT), having fallen to $40.60, the lowest front-month price since March 2009. It said markets will be tracking the eurozone, U.S., and Chinese flash PMI data on Friday very closely.

The nation may even consider selling debt in the global markets, provided oil prices stabilise and government spending continues, John Sfakianakis, the Riyadh-based Middle East director at asset manager Ashmore Group, says. The stock had come under pressure after state media said...

US crude oil, also known as West Texas Intermediate or WTI, was down 45 cents at US$40.35 a barrel by 0910 GMT, after hitting a new 6-1/2-year low of US$40.23.

PetroChina Co. paced losses for energy companies as oil extended its decline from the lowest close in more than six years.

“Only the “national team”… would be able to turn the tide like this”, said Yingda Securities analyst Li Daxiao, referring to entities acting for the government.

And now the People’s Bank of China has joined the parade. However, the stronger dollar over the past year constitutes a headwind for net exports and a drag on growth.

Apple (Swiss: AAPL.SW – news), for whom China is a key market, fell 0.5 percent to 116.60 and was the biggest drag on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.

On its part, China has increased its presence on the continent funding major infrastructure projects in a number of Sub-Saharan Africa countries as it sort to gain a upper hand in deals that involve raw material for its fast growing industries back home.

Finance ministers of the 19-nation euro single currency group have approved the first 26 billion euros ($29 billion) of a vast new bailout package to help rebuild Greece’s shattered economy.

In euro terms, gold is holding its own at above €1,000 per troy ounce. The rand is expected to come under more pressure from inflation and retail figures for July due on Wednesday. In addition, auto sales have remained healthy, as has the housing sector.

Global economic norms proved no match for China’s subsidies for politically-connected enterprises, questionable respect for intellectual property rights, state-sponsored computer hacking, opaque crackdowns on foreign companies and poorlabor and environmental standards.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) suggests that the adjustment made to the value of the currency was due to the new method of calculating the daily price of the currency. But why should Western markets be anxious about a competitive devaluation of the Chinese currency? Note...

“While U.S. crude oil production this year is expected to be 100,000 barrels per day less than previously forecast, oil output is still on track to be the highest since 1972″, said Adam Sieminski, Administrator with the EIA.

The transaction has many traits of a typical Buffett deal: he already owned a minority stake in Precision; he is a big believer in nuts-and-bolts industrial groups; and the company’s share price had come under pressure, falling by about a tenth.