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German Trade Surplus Widens in April as Exports Rise

Germany's trade surplus widened in April from the previous month as exports grew by 1.9 percent,  official data showed on Monday.

At the same time imports fell by 1.3 percent, pushing the trade surplus, the balance between imports and exports, up to 22.3 billion euros ($25 billion) in April, according to seasonally adjusted figures published by the federal statistics office, Destatis.

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Turkey Stocks Tumble, Lira Hits Record Low after Election

Turkish shares fell 6 percent in morning trade Monday and the lira plunged to a new record low against the dollar, as investors took fright at new political uncertainty following legislative elections.

Turkey's central bank acted swiftly in an intervention to give some support to the pressured Turkish lira, saying it was pruning its short term foreign exchange deposit rates effective Tuesday.

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Greece's Varoufakis to Meet German Finance Minister Monday

Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble will meet Monday in Berlin with his Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis, amid contentious negotiations between Greece and its creditors, the German ministry said.

A ministry spokesman told Agence France Presse the meeting would take place "in the morning" and that no press conference was planned.

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Oil Down after OPEC Meeting, Eyes on Iran Talks

Oil prices fell in Asia Monday after OPEC decided to maintain its high output levels, while traders were also weighing the possible return of Iranian supplies that have been curtailed by international sanctions against Tehran, analysts said. 

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery fell 47 cents to $58.66 while Brent crude for July eased 42 cents to $62.89 in afternoon trade. 

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PM: Greece Close to EU-IMF Deal but Creditors Must Drop 'Absurd' Demands

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday said the country was close to a default-saving reform deal but called on EU-IMF creditors to withdraw "absurd" demands for further austerity cuts after ducking a loan repayment to the IMF.

"I believe we are now closer than ever to a deal," Tsipras said in a speech to parliament as he faced criticism from the opposition on the state of the negotiations.

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IMF Plans $833 mn in Emergency Aid to Iraq

The International Monetary Fund said Friday it was preparing $833 million in emergency financial assistance to Iraq as the country battles the Islamic State insurgency.

The IMF said a mission had agreed on the aid with the Iraqi government under the Fund's Rapid Financing Instrument program, subject to IMF management approval, which is lusikely to come in July.

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Spanish Anti-Austerity Party Podemos Presents Policies to IMF

Spain's new anti-austerity party Podemos on Friday presented its economic proposals to representatives of the International Monetary Fund in Spain, the party said in a statement.

"This meeting, which is the result of an IMF request made to Podemos, is part of a series of meetings which the international body is having with Spanish political parties and economic actors during its visit to the country," the statement said.

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U.S. Judge Orders Argentina to Pay $5.2 bn to Additional Creditors

A U.S. judge ordered Argentina on Friday to pay $5.2 billion to some 500 creditors seeking repayment on the same favorable terms given to other holders of the South American country's restructured debt.

In a 26-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Griesa ruled that by refusing to make payment to some hedge fund and individual bondholders of its defaulted debt, while making payment to other creditors, Buenos Aires was in violation of an equal treatment provision in its contracts. 

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Naimi: OPEC Keeps 'Same' Oil Output Ceiling

The OPEC oil producers' cartel has decided to keep the "same" output target of 30 million barrels per day, Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said Friday.

"The ceiling is the same. You will be surprised how amicable the meeting was," Naimi told reporters after the gathering of the 12-nation cartel that pumps one third of the world's oil.

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Bundesbank Upgrades German Growth Forecasts for 2015, 2016

The German central bank, or Bundesbank, upgraded Friday its growth forecasts for this year and next year, saying activity in Europe's biggest economy was being supported by both domestic and foreign demand.

The Bundesbank said in a statement it was expecting gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 1.7 percent in 2015, by 1.8 percent in 2016 and 1.5 percent in 2017. 

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