BEIJING (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp said on Thursday it was considering further price increases, but would do nothing that slowed customer traffic into its global network of stores.

The world's largest restaurant chain posted second-quarter profit that beat expectations on strong international sales, but said to offset mounting commodity pressures it was looking at changes to the popular Dollar Menu, which lures value diners.

"I don't think customers care that much if the price moves slightly away from a dollar," Chief Executive Jim Skinner told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of an event to mark its sponsorship of the Olympics.

"It will always be the best value around," he said.

Much speculation swirls around the fate of the Dollar Menu double cheeseburger, which McDonald's has tested in certain markets at prices up to $1.29.

Skinner said McDonald's might adjust some prices in the menu, but that it would not abandon the Dollar Menu because it was a key part of bringing customers into its stores.

"We won't get rid of the Dollar Menu ... we must maintain traffic," Skinner said.

During the first half of the year, McDonald's raised prices in the United States by 4 percent and prices across Europe were boosted by 2 percent to 4 percent.

But the price rise accounted for just under half of the average annual gain in commodity prices that McDonald's faces.

While reducing costs and increasing efficiency are a part of McDonald's everyday operations, the company would not scale back its expansion.

"You can never shrink your way to prosperity," he said. "What we need to do is grow. If we grow the top line, that will take care of the (profit) margin."

McDonald's international operations continued to grow at a brisk rate, helping to insulate the company from the housing-led U.S. economic downturn that is hurting upscale restaurants.

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(UPI) – Crude oil prices rose Wednesday to $119.48 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, although gas prices continued a downward trend.

Crude oil gained 31 cents in early trading in New York to $119.48 per barrel. But a monthlong retreat in oil prices has erased more than 25 cents a gallon from gasoline prices.

 The national average retail price of unleaded gasoline fell 0.009 cents to $3.862 per gallon Wednesday, 25.2 cents below its July 17 record, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.
 

Heating oil prices rose 0.0139 cents to $3.2959 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices rose 0.0161 cents to $2.9725 per gallon.
Natural gas prices dropped 0.049 cents to $8.775 per million British thermal units.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve held a key interest rate steady on Tuesday in an effort to nurse the economy back to health without further exacerbating inflation.

The decision by the U.S. central bank leaves the benchmark federal funds rate target at a low 2 percent, where it has been since April. The Fed had reduced rates by a cumulative 3.25 percentage points since mid-September in response to a sharp housing retrenchment and turmoil in credit markets.

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