Global gold demand weakened in the second quarter as purchases fell in key consuming nations China and India, the World Gold Council said on Thursday.

"Total demand was 915 tonnes, a fall of 12 percent compared to the same period last year, due mainly to a decline in demand from consumers in India and China," the WGC said in a quarterly update.

Asian currencies gained Thursday, rebounding from the worst two-day rout in almost 20 years after China reassured markets it would not engage in a currency war. 

Emerging market currencies including the Indonesian rupiah, Philippine peso and South Korean won rose slightly against the dollar after China Thursday trimmed its yuan reference rate 1.1 percent. 

The dollar rose against a range of Asia-Pacific currencies on Wednesday after China cut the value of the yuan against the greenback for a second consecutive day.

The dollar added to the previous day's gains against the Indonesian rupiah, Indian rupee and South Korean won, while it dipped to 124.81 yen in late trade in Tokyo after earlier jumping past its New York price of 125.12 yen.

India's government is seeking damages of nearly $100 million from Nestle for "unfair trade practices" after the food safety watchdog banned its hugely popular Maggi noodles brand.

The government said Wednesday it has filed a suit with the country's top consumer court for 6,400 million rupees ($98.6 million) in damages from the Indian arm of the Swiss food giant.

China's currency fell further Wednesday following a surprise change in its exchange rate mechanism that rattled global markets and threatens to fan trade tensions with the United States and Europe.

The central bank said the yuan's 1.9 percent devaluation Tuesday against the U.S. dollar, which was its biggest one-day fall in a decade, was due to changes aimed at making the tightly controlled currency more market-oriented. That raised the prospect of still more declines, which would help struggling Chinese exporters at the expense of foreign competitors and might shore up flagging economic growth.

Labor leaders on Tuesday called off a planned strike of the construction on the Panama Canal, which is nearing completion of an ambitious expansion project.

Workers, who sought higher salaries, said they would continue on the job after reaching an agreement which will lead to a raise.

OPEC on Tuesday revised upward its growth forecast for global oil demand in 2015 and maintained projected record levels of world consumption next year, despite turbulent market conditions spurred by financial instability in Greece and China.

In its August monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said it was expecting world oil demand to grow by 1.38 million barrels per day -- some 90,000 more than announced in its July estimates.

Indian firm Adani Tuesday accused environmental activists of exploiting legal loopholes to stall a massive Australian coal mine, after Standard Chartered bank withdrew as a financial adviser to the project.

An Australian court last week revoked government approval for the Aus$16.5 billion (U.S.$12.1 billion) Carmichael coal mine, which could have become one of the world's biggest.

Iran's famed carpet weavers are busy at work following the country's historic nuclear deal with world powers, anticipating a boost in exports as sanctions are set to be lifted in the months ahead.

"The Persian hand-woven carpet is Iran's ambassador. I'm delighted that the ambassador is in the process of resuming work in the U.S.," exporter Jila Rassam Arabzadeh said this week. "The Persian carpet is like the Iranian flag, known all over the world. Let our flag fly."

Greece on Tuesday reached a deal on a multi-billion bailout with its international creditors, officials said, with the government planning to submit it to parliament later in the day.

"An agreement was reached," a government source told Agence France Presse, with Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos telling reporters: "We are very close... There are a couple of very small details remaining on prior actions."