Oil is faltering in early morning trade as manufacturing in China slowed down, leading to a decline in energy demand worldwide. China's purchasing managers' index fell to 52.1 in June compared to 53.8 in May. Traders will be awaiting the release of the U.S. Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index later in the day. Gold is down slightly, but many analysts expect the yellow metal to trend higher in the longer term as worries about the strength of the global economy comes into question, particularly with mounting concerns about China's growth prospects. At 0755 ET, Brent crude is 1.6% lower at $73.83 a barrel, while light sweet crude is down 1.0% at $74.84 a barrel, and natural gas is 0.7% lower at $4.58 a million British thermal units. Gold is down 0.2% at $1,243.50 an ounce, while silver is 0.1% lower at $18.66 an ounce, and copper is down 1.9% at $2.89 a pound. Indonesia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd, better known as Petronas, posted a second year of declining earings as energy prices fell and production costs remained high. The state-owned company reported net income falling 23% to about 40.3 billion ringgit, while sales dropped 18% to 216.4 billion ringgit. Romania's OMV Petrom SA ( SNP ) plans to sell production licenses in about 20 mature oil fields in the country. Licenses will be auctioned off, and companies interested in participate must be registered with the Agency for Mineral Resources and not have any outstanding debts with the Romanian government. In the mining sector, platinum giant Aquarius Platinum Ltd ( AQP ) has cut output targets by 20% at its Blue Ridge mine in South Africa due to a suspension of operations and a safety review after two miners died. The company expects Blue Ridge to produce about 80,000 ounces in 2011, down from its earlier forecast of 100,000 ounces. Goldcorp Inc ( GG ), meanwhile, said it will implement a number of changes in its social and environmental programs in Guatemala's Marlin mine, which has come under pressure from human rights groups.

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