Oil: Venezuela slashes payment time for oil

Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) - Venezuela's state-run oil company - has slashed the time for foreign companies to pay for oil purchases from 30 days to eight days.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the company said the decision was partly due to the falling U.S. dollar. PDVSA also said having the payments sooner will allow it to re-invest its income quickly and remain competitive in the world oil market.