Nickel price drop dashes dealer hopes: The plunge that on Tuesday left nickel futures again teetering at their lowest price in nearly five years has postponed any hopes that a long-awaited upswing in the market hadcommenced, metals dealers said on Wednesday. A mounting lack of faith that nickel prices will soon see a reversal could have broader implications for Australia's burgeoning boom in nickel production, slated to deliver tens of thousand of tonnes of refined metal onto world markets soon. Three-month London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel dropped to $4,050 a tonne on Tuesday -- a price last seen in late 1993 -- before recovering slightly to $4,090.

China lead output up 13%: China produced 379,800 tonnes of lead in the first seven months of 1998, up 13 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier, the Futures Herald said on Wednesday, quoting the State Statistical Bureau. China produced 60,200 tonnes of lead in July alone, up 25.9 per cent year-on-year, the newspaper said without giving further details.

China copper output up: China produced 613,400 tonnes of copper in the first seven months, up 1.0 per cent from the same period a year ago, the Futures Herald said on Wednesday,quoting the State Statistical Bureau. China's copper output was 92,100 tonnes in July alone, down 3.7 per cent year-on-year, the newspaper said.

China rubber output down: China produced 322,800 tonnes of synthetic rubber in the first seven months of 1998, down 6.2 per cent from the year-earlier period, the Futures Herald said on Wednesday, quoting the State Statistical Bureau. China's synthetic rubber output was 41,500 tonnes in July alone, down 20.3 per cent from the year-ago period, the newspaper said.

Exxon awarded $171 m in Mobil lawsuit: Exxon Corp said Tuesday it was awarded $171 million by a US federal court in Texas in a patent lawsuit against Mobil Corp. over a so-called "smart catalyst" used to make plastics and rubber. In a statement, Exxon the world's second-largest oil company, said the US district court in Houston ruled US-based major Mobil infringed on its metallocene catalyst patent. As well as the $171 million damages awarded Exxon, the company said it expected Mobilwill be enjoined from further infringement of the patent. Mobil officials were not available for comment. Exxon said the Texas ruling marked the second validation of the metallocene patent, the first being in Japan in February, where the patent was granted over the opposition of several major companies.

Taiwan buys September MTBE: Taiwan's state-owned Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC) bought three 3,500-tonne methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) cargoes by tender at around $228 per tonne cost-and-freight (C-and-F), traders said on Wednesday. The tender, which closed August 7 and was valid for two days, sought the cargoes for September 3-20 delivery to Keelung and Kaohsiung. Traders said the award was made to two sellers, but no names were disclosed. In its last tender, CPC purchased one 3,500-tonne cargo for delivery between August 3-20 at $237 per tonne C-and-F.

India to buy superior kerosene: Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has tendered to buy superior kerosene (SKO) for October, traders said on Wednesday.The tender seeks 30,000 tonne cargoes for delivery into Mumbai and 40,000 to 45,000 tonnes to Madras/Haldia, they said. It will close on August 20 with offers valid until August21. In its September tender awarded last Friday, IOC bought 11 SKO cargoes totalling 405,000 tonnes, five cargoes for delivery to the east coast of India and six cargoes into West coast Indian ports.

Asian gas oil hit by cash selloff: Singapore gas oil swaps fell at midday on Wednesday as prices were pulled down by sharply lower physical values as the market traded at a new 10-year low amid concerns of high stocks, traders said. "The market was hit hard by yesterday's physical trades and people are not convinced that it had bottomed," one trader said. September gas oil was last quoted at $14.20/$14.30, down 25 cents from Tuesday in quiet trade.

NWE fuel oil barges rebound: NWE fuel oil barges rebounded sharply in Wednesday morning trade, gaining more than $3 as buyers took advantage of the recent price weakness.Prompt high sulphur fuel oil barges out of Rotterdam traded at $60 and $61 a tonne in early action, dealers said, after falling to four-and-a-half year lows on Tuesday at $57.50. More than 5,000 tonnes of fuel oil were rumoured to have changed hands in Wednesday activity. Gas oil trade remained extremely quiet, with traders focussing their attention on the expiration of the August IPE futures later in the day.

Japan traders expect LME copper rebound: Prices for copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) are likely to recover somewhat on Wednesday as the dollar has given up part of its Tuesday gains against the yen, traders said. They said there had been small-lot copper buying by foreign brokers during Asian morning trade after three months copper fell through support at $1,620 the previous day. Nickel is braced for a further slide to the psychologically important $4,000 level after lurching to a 10-year low of $4,050 in pre-market trading on Tuesday, they said. By 0458 GMT, three months copper wasquoted at $1,614/$1,618, compared with the Tuesday close at $1,614. Traders said aluminium looked oversold, though they saw little chance for follow-through buying beyond $1,350.

World drug sales up 6%: Pharmaceutical sales in the world's major markets rose by six per cent in the 12 months to the end of April to $179 billion, market researcher IMS Health said on Wednesday. The latest IMS report said the North American market continued to lead market growth at an overall rate of 11 per cent per annum. Central nervous system products rose by 18 per cent in North American, making up the bulk of the region's market with a 20 per cent share valued at $14.7 billion. Growth across the five top European markets continued to rise by a steady five per cent, with a value of $49.3 billion pounds. Despite Japan's recession, pharmaceutical sales fell by three per cent, compared with a fall of five per cent in March. All categories of drugs are now suffering negative or flat growth in Japan. The three major LatinAmerican markets saw growth slow to seven per cent, with a total value of $13.2 billion. Both Brazil and Argentina saw growth rates slacken to two per cent and four per cent due to tough fiscal controls being imposed. But Mexico continued to see rapid growth of 24 per cent.