RIYADH (AFP)

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown arrived in Saudi Arabia Saturday seeking financial support to calm the world economic storm, as Germany and the United States faced up to more bad news.

Brown's visit was the first in a four-day tour of oil-rich Gulf states during which he will try to persuade leaders to give extra funds to countries hit by the economic crisis.

He wants the International Monetary Fund's 250-billion-dollar (195-billion-euro) bailout fund for the worst affected countries to be extended to prevent "contagion" spreading to other nations.

He has already called for the Gulf states and China to step up and be among the biggest donors to an expanded scheme.

"It's the countries that have got substantial reserves, the oil-rich countries and others who are going to be the biggest contributors to this fund," he said Tuesday.

Accompanying Brown were Peter Mandelson, the former EU trade commissioner, now Britain's Business Minister, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and 27 leading figures from British business.

But despite Britain's strong historic and trade links with the Gulf states, he could have difficulty winning them over.

The price of oil, their main economic asset, fell below 60 dollars a barrel this week from record highs of nearly 150 dollars in July on fears of falling demand because of the slowdown.

And last week Brown clashed with the leading oil producing countries over their emergency cut in production, which was a bid to halt the slide.

But the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has already said it sees no reason why it should bail out a crisis which originated in the United States.

Consumer spending

Germany and the United States meanwhile were coming to terms with sharp falls in consumer spending, which deepened fears of a global recession.

Earlier this week, central banks from the United States to Japan lowered borrowing costs in a bid to halt the financial meltdown.

Speculation was growing that the European Central Bank and the Bank of England would follow suit, with fresh rate cuts next week.

In a surprise move Saturday, India's central bank cut its key short-term lending rate Saturday by 50 basis points to 7.50 percent as part of a package of measures to help spur growth in what is Asia's third-largest economy.

In Russia meanwhile, savers worried about the financial crisis were busy switching their money from the ruble to foreign currencies, central bank figures for September showed, Interfax reported.

Leaders of the G20 industrialized and emerging-market countries will meet in Washington on November 15 to discuss restructuring of the world financial system, including the IMF.

The IMF is set to bail out Hungary, Ukraine and Iceland, while Pakistan is reportedly poised to apply for IMF assistance over its balance of payments crisis.