The dollar rose against the euro and erased losses versus the yen after a Chinese official said he was “not aware” of a plan to discuss a new reserve currency at a Group of Eight meeting next week. Chinahopes that the dollar’s exchange rate will “remain stable” as the world’s international reserve currency, Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei told reporters in Beijing. It wouldn’t be unusual for Group of Eight leaders to discuss a new reserve currency at this month’s summit, He said.

The ECB will keep interest rates at a record low for more than a year and may yet need to expand its use of unconventional tools as it battles the worst recession since World War II, economists said. ECB officials meeting in Luxembourg today will leave the benchmark rate at a record low of 1 percent, according to all but two of 60 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.

Australia’s trade deficit widened in May as a drop in coal shipments pushed exports to the lowest level in 14 months, signaling economic growth may slow. The shortfall swelled to A$556 million ($448 million) from a revised A$282 million in April, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 20 economists was for a A$125 million gap. Exports fell 5 percent.

WTO says governments restricting, distorting trade. Governments are continuing to restrict unfairly and distort commerce in response to the global economic downturn, the head of the WTO said on Wednesday. "In the past three months there has been further slippage towards more trade restricting and distorting policies, but resort to high?intensity protectionist measures has been contained overall," Pascal Lamy said in a report to WTO members, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

Toyota’s U.S. sales in June fell more than predicted after the company pared incentives and overall market demand failed to beat May’s level, delaying a U.S. rebound for Asian auto brands.

Auto seating supplier Lear Corp said on Wednesday it would file for Chapter 11 in a reorganization supported by key secured lenders and bondholders and had obtained $500 million in bankruptcy financing.