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Business Quick Take

■ Crude oil
Output in Venezuela up
Venezuela's oil output has increased five-fold since the start of the year as additional fields have been activated, striking oil workers said. Output is about 1.08 million barrels, strikers said in a press statement. They estimated output at 190,000 barrels a day on Jan. 1. Venezuela was producing about 3 million barrels a day of oil before the nationwide strike began Dec. 2. Natural gas output was 41 percent of pre-strike levels, strikers said. Oil output has been curtailed since the strike began. Strikers are seeking the ouster of President Hugo Chavez. Petroleos de Venezuela SA President Ali Rodriguez said Friday that production was 1.5 million barrels a day, and will reach 2.5 million barrels a day by mid-March. His forecasts are disputed by oil strikers.

■ Automakers
Nissan pushes Teana cars
Nissan Motor Co, Japan's third-largest automaker, said it plans to sell 100,000 of its new Teana sedans a year worldwide after it releases the model in an effort to lure more customers. The company, 44 percent owned by Renault SA, said it expects to sell about 25,000 units a year in its home market. Nissan starts selling the luxury car in Japan today, priced between Japanese yen 2.25 million (US$18,746) and 3.19 million yen. The automaker will offer it in China and other Asian markets later this year. Nissan, which expects to raise global auto sales by 9.3 percent this business year, is releasing a record 12 new and revamped models globally to spur demand. The world's second-largest automaker by market value expects to report a third straight record annual profit this business year, after posting its largest loss three years ago. The Teana, based on the same platform as the Maxima sedan, will be available with a 2.3-liter or 3.5-liter engine.

■ NTT DoCoMo
Customer spending down
NTT DoCoMo Inc, the world's No. 2 mobile-phone company by sales, said customers spent less on cellular services and it lost market share in the three months ended Dec. 31. Customers of DoCoMo's main cellular services spent an average of Y8,200 (US$68) a month in the quarter, 4 percent less than in the same period a year earlier, the company said in a release at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. DoCoMo said its share of Japan's cellular market, the world's second biggest by value behind the US, slipped to 58.3 percent from 59 percent a year earlier.

■ Platinum
Price surges in Tokyo
Platinum rose in Tokyo to the highest more than 19 years on expectation a US$1.2 billion fuel cell initiative proposed by US President George W. Bush would boost demand for the metal. Platinum for December delivery rose Y80, or 3.4 percent, to 2,437 yen per gram on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, the highest price since March 20, 1989. "Platinum demand is expected to increase as more of the metal will be used for fuel cells for autos," said Akio Shibata, a commodities analyst at Marubeni Corp. The so-called Freedom Fuel initiative in the US is aimed at reversing "America's growing dependence on foreign oil by developing the technology for commercially viable hydrogen-powered fuel cells to power cars, trucks, homes and businesses with no pollution or greenhouse gases," Bush told the US Congress last week.

Agencies
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