IN BRIEF

China to end

probe of US grains

BEIJING: China's commerce ministry says it will end its anti-dumping probe on imports of US distillers dried grains (DDGS), which will open the door for more imports. The ministry late last year had extended the probe for half a year until June 28 into imports of the product, a by-product of corn-based ethanol production. Chinese buyers have expected the termination of the probe and imports in May jumped 346 per cent to 294,704 tonnes, according to official Customs data.

Nissan to chop Japan production by 15%

TOKYO: Nissan Motor is cutting its production in Japan by 15 per cent from next month in a response to surging manufacturing costs driven by a stronger yen and weakening domestic demand, reports said yesterday. The company will suspend one of two production lines at the Oppama factory south of Tokyo, resulting in its domestic annual output falling to 1.15 million vehicles from 1.35 million, according to the Nikkei business daily and domestic agencies Jiji Press and Kyodo News.

New Zealand economy posts surprise growth

WELLINGTON: New Zealand said yesterday its economy grew at its fastest rate in five years in the January-March quarter, boosted by strong performances in the farming and manufacturing sectors. The 1.1 increase, more than double forecasts of 0.5 per cent, meant the economy expanded 1.7 per cent in the year to March, compared with 1.5 per cent in the previous 12 months, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said. It was the strongest quarterly performance since March 2007 and sparked a sharp rise in the New Zealand dollar, which was up 0.47 US cents to 80.06 cents.

Sri Lanka calls S&P warning incorrect

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka yesterday dismissed a warning from the Standard & Poor's rating agency about the island's banks as "factually incorrect, illogically analysed and highly contradictory." The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said it was "gravely concerned" about S&P giving the country an "eight" in its Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the highest risk. The rating grouped Sri Lanka with countries including Nigeria, Tunisia and Kazakhstan. "The Central Bank of Sri Lanka wishes to assure the public that the Sri Lankan banking system is sound and resilient and is not prone to high risk as indicated in the statement of Standard & Poor's," the bank said. Agencies