Oil prices hovered below $99 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as investors eyed a jump in U.S. crude inventories and signs of sluggish economic growth.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 15 cents at $98.63 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 30 cents to settle at $98.48 on Tuesday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has presented parliament a draft budget that would cut government spending by 5.6 percent while allocating more money for development projects.

The $416 billion budget, unveiled Wednesday, is about 5 percent less than the previous year's budget, and comes at a time when Iran is facing mounting international sanctions and isolation over its controversial nuclear program. Iran disputes the West's claim that the program is aimed at producing weapons.

Airport authorities in the Emirati capital have been cleared to begin building a futuristic airport terminal that will house fast-growing Etihad Airways.

State-run Abu Dhabi Airports Company said Wednesday it hopes to begin construction on the planned Midfield Terminal Complex between April and June after getting approval from the emirate's Executive Council.

European banks plan to borrow at least twice as much money from the European Central Bank as they did in December, the Financial Times reported Tuesday, a sign of further stress in the sector.

"Several of the Eurozone’s biggest banks told the Financial Times that they could double or triple their request for funds" when the ECB makes its second round of exceptional three-year loans on February 29, the report said.

Turkey's trade deficit widened by 47.7 percent in 2011 as both exports and imports increased, official data showed on Tuesday.

The gap reached 105.8 billion dollars (80.2 billion euros) from 71.6 billion dollars in 2010, the state statistics institute said.

Tokyo stocks added 0.11 percent Tuesday as investor fears over the yen's strength slightly eased and they welcomed better-than-expected industrial output data for December.

The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 9.46 points to 8,802.51. The Topix index lost 1.74 points or 0.23 percent to 755.27.

India said Monday it may use its own currency, the rupee, to pay for oil imports from Iran in the face of a U.S.-led sanctions campaign aimed at forcing Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme.

India has said it will continue to import oil from Iran, joining China in refusing to bow to intensifying U.S. pressure not to do business with Iran.

Japanese film and camera maker Fujifilm has offered scandal-hit Olympus a capital and business tie-up, it said Monday as it announced a slump in third-quarter profits.

Fujifilm said it has formally proposed a link-up to Olympus' advisors, seeing synergies in the pair's medical operations, although it did not reveal details.

Already dismissed as a "waste of time" and "harmful" by two foreign ministers, the "fiscal compact" that EU leaders hope to conclude at a summit Monday has run into criticism before even being agreed.

The German-led accord, designed as a tighter set of budgetary rules to beef up the ailing and much-infringed Stability and Growth Pact, was set to be agreed by 26 EU leaders later Monday, with Britain remaining on the sidelines.

December: The three main credit ratings agencies, Fitch, Standard & Poor's and Moody's, downgrade Greece's debt. Prime Minister George Papandreou outlines massive public spending cuts.

-- 2010 --