Glencore highlighted "some encouraging signs" for business, despite reporting that the global recession and weak commodity prices had dragged earnings down 57% in the first half of the year.

The Swiss-based group, the world's biggest commodity-trading company, reported interim earnings excluding one-off items of $1.12bn, down from $2.63bn a year before.

The decline reflected a 47% drop to $45.2bn in revenues as Glencore, which runs 16 production facilities besides its trading operations, struggled against a "challenging recessionary backdrop and low commodity price environment".

However, the company added that there were "some encouraging signs of increased levels of business activity", which had fostered a marked improvement in the April-to-June period.

Debt burden

The group also noted an improvement in its debt burden, which prompted widespread concerns at the end of last year amid the credit crunch, and following an 85% drop in the value of its 35% stake in mining giant Xstrata, one of Glencore's major assets.

Net debt, adjusted for assets held in readily-sold commodities, slid by $1.1bn to $11.5bn, and declined as proportion of the funds that shareholders have tied up in the business.

The group - which has been reported to be considering a sale of some of its Xstrata stake to raise cash, besides mulling a stock market flotation � said it had renewed both its short-term revolving credit agreement and liquidity back-up lines, and extended to 2012 expiry of most of an $8.2bn medium-term facility.

"Short-term debt refinancing requirements remain modest," Glencore said.