TOKYO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Crude prices extended their losses into a sixth day on Thursday, hovering near 3-month lows, hurt by growing fears over slower fuel demand amid a spike in COVID-19 cases worldwide while an unexpected rise in U.S. gasoline inventories added to pressure.

TOKYO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The dollar rose to a nine-month high versus the euro and Australian and New Zealand currencies on Thursday, with Federal Reserve policy makers mostly in agreement that a stimulus taper would start this year.

TOKYO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Confidence among Japanese manufacturers hit a more than three-and-half-year high in August and service-sector sentiment turned positive, the Reuters Tankan poll showed, suggesting the economy was shaking off the drag from the COVID-19 slump.

WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Production at U.S. factories surged in July, boosted by an acceleration in motor vehicle output as auto makers either pared or canceled annual retooling shutdowns to work around a global semiconductor shortage.

BEIJING, Aug 18 (Reuters) - China's Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd (0175.HK) said on Wednesday its first-half net profit grew 4%, as the world's biggest car market recovers.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian shares held near year-to-date lows on Wednesday as overnight declines on Wall Street reinforced worries about the economic impact of the Delta coronavirus variant sweeping through the region.