The first five months of 2023 have witnessed at least six major events/trends that augur badly for global economic and socio-political prospects, points out Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
India's forex reserves declined by $1.42 billion to $631.53 billion for the week ended in February 25 due to a dip in currency assets, according to the Reserve Bank data released on Friday. The overall reserves had increased by $2.76 billion to $632.95 billion in the previous reporting week. During the reporting week, the foreign currency assets (FCA) declined by $2.23 billion to $564.83 billion.
India's forex reserves zoomed by $10.42 billion to $572 billion as on January 13, making it one of the biggest weekly jumps in the kitty in recent times. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had dropped by $1.268 billion to $561.58 billion. In October 2021, the country's forex kitty reached an all-time high of $645 billion.
Crude oil has fallen about 40 per cent since mid June and the price on Monday touched its lowest level since mid 2009 before US oil prices posted their biggest one-day gain in two years overnight.
Until now the Fund has sold 212 metric tonnes of gold but it was limited to central banks.
India's forex reserves dropped by $691 million to $562.808 billion as of December 23, making it the second consecutive week of decline in the kitty, according to the RBI data. The overall reserves had dropped by $571 million to $563.50 billion in the previous reporting week, snapping a five-week trend of an increase in the kitty. In October 2021, the country's foreign exchange reserves reached an all-time high of $645 billion.
India appears poised to sustain its growth in a more durable way than before with the economy carrying the momentum from FY23 into the current fiscal year, the Annual Economic Review for 2022-23 released by the finance ministry on Thursday said. However, the report cautioned that escalation of geopolitical stress, enhanced volatility in global financial systems, sharp price correction in global stock markets, a high magnitude of El-Nino impact, and modest trade activity and FDI inflows, are factors that could constrain the pace of growth. "Should these developments deepen and dampen growth in the subsequent quarters, the external sector may challenge India's growth outlook for FY24," the finance ministry said.
Continuing their downward trajectory for the third consecutive week, the country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $2.03 billion to stand at $617.648 billion in the week ended March 25, RBI data showed on Friday. In the week ended March 18, the forex kitty had declined by $2.60 billion to $619.68 billion. It had plunged by $9.65 billion to $622.27 billion in the week ended March 11.
After rising for five consecutive weeks, India's forex kitty dropped $571 million to $563.5 billion for the week ended December 16, according to RBI data released on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had swelled $2.91 billion to $564.06 billion, making it the fifth straight week of an increase in the kitty after a protracted decline. In October 2021, the country's foreign exchange kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.
'You must have heard that Pakistan is going bankrupt or that a default or meltdown is taking place. It (default) has already taken place. We are living in a bankrupt country,' Defence minister Khawaja Asif said.
The head of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday forecast the global economy would grow by slightly more than 3 per cent this year and advanced economies may need to cut interest rates to support the recovery.\n\n\n\n
Asia is likely to sprint ahead of the rest of the world in 2003, but the lingering uncertainty of a Middle East war and slowing US economy can derail the region's growth engine, a top IMF official said.
The summit is being attended by more than 30 heads of state and top officials from the European Union and invited guest countries and 14 heads of international organisations.
The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $7.541 billion to $572.712 billion in the week ended July 15 as the Reserve Bank continued to intervene in the market to curb the fall of the rupee. In the previous week ended July 8, the reserves shrunk by $8.06 billion to $580.25 billion, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed on Friday. On Friday, the rupee fell by 5 paise to close at 79.90 against the US dollar.
India's forex reserves rose by $2.908 billion to $564.06 billion for the week ended on December 9, according to the Reserve Bank data released on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had soared by $11 billion to $561.16 billion. This is the fifth consecutive week of an increase in the reserves.
The country's foreign exchange reserves declined $9.65 billion to $622.27 billion in the week ended March 11, according to the latest data from the RBI. In the previous week ended March 4, the reserves rose $394 million to $631.92 billion. It touched a lifetime high of $642.45 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.
India's decision to ban the export of non-basmati white rice has pushed up global prices, prompting multilateral lending agencies, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to call for a reconsideration of the move. Though nothing has been spelled out yet officially, sources said, the government might consider requests for government-to-government sale of non-basmati white rice, especially to West African nations where India is a major supplier. Also, traders and exporters of specialty regional rice varieties like sona masuri or gobindo bhog feel that they have been short-changed.
The country's foreign exchange reserves increased by $394 million to $631.92 billion in the week ended March 4, the RBI data showed. In the previous week ended February 25, the reserves had declined by $1.425 billion to $631.527 billion. It touched a lifetime high of $642.453 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.
In the steepest weekly fall ever, India's forex reserves slid by $11.17 billion to $606.47 billion as the currency came under pressure due to geopolitical developments, according to the Reserve Bank data released on Friday. For the previous reporting week ended March 25, the overall reserves had slid by $2.03 billion to $617.65 billion. The steep fall in the reserves was because of a decline in the core currency assets, which fell by $10.73 billion to $539.73 billion.
The country's foreign exchange reserves increased by $2.76 billion to $632.95 billion for the week ended February 18 on a healthy rise in the value of gold reserves and core currency assets, the RBI said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had declined by $1.76 billion to $630.19 billion. During the reporting week, the rise in overall reserves was on account of an increase in the foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly data released on Friday showed.
The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $1.76 billion to $630.19 billion in the week ended on February 11, the RBI data showed. In the previous week ended February 4, the reserves had risen by $2.2 billion to $631.95 billion. It touched a lifetime high of $642.45 billion in the week ended on September 3, 2021.
Pakistan, the closest ally of China, has decided to skip the Democracy Summit that begins in Washington on Tuesday, opting instead to engage with the US bilaterally to strengthen democratic values, the foreign office in Islamabad said.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office on Monday said that Mahinda Rajapaksa intends to propose a new Constitutional Amendment to the cabinet in order to fulfil the people's aspirations.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday said the government and the central bank are in discussion with South Asian countries to have cross-border trade in rupee. He also said the central bank digital currency (CBDC) is in trial phase and the RBI is moving very carefully and cautiously on digital rupee launch. After the successful launch of the wholesale pilot, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on December 1, last year, began its retail CBDC pilot project.
The country's foreign exchange reserves increased by $2.19 billion to $631.95 billion in the week ended February 4, RBI data showed. In the previous week ended January 28, the reserves had declined by $4.53 billion to $629.76 billion. It touched a lifetime high of $642.45 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.
Doggedly persisting with its much-criticised zero-Covid policy, China has slipped deeper into the coronavirus quagmire as it reported a record 31,444 infections on Thursday with many of its cities, including Beijing, resorting to community lockdowns to stem the virus amid worsening wintery weather.
Many in the US establishment must hope that the crisis would put the brakes on China's growing military might. Well, it ain't gonna happen, says T T Ram Mohan, who was appointed a member of the prime minister's economic advisory council on Wednesday, October 28, 2021.
Lead indicators suggest that domestic current account deficit (CAD) is likely to reduce in 2023, while macro-economic stability has received a boost from inflation being brought back to the official tolerance band, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) January 2023 Bulletin. "With the merchandise trade deficit reaching an all-time high of $83.5 billion in a quarter, and a rise in net outgo from the income account, the current account deficit increased to 4.4 per cent of GDP in Q2FY23," the State of the Economy article in the bulletin said. "It is noteworthy, however, that the CAD for Q1 was revised down from 2.8 per cent to 2.2 per cent on account of downward adjustment in Customs data.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday thanked India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving Sri Lanka 'a breath of life' by providing timely economic assistance to his country as it faced the worst economic crisis in decades.
The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $4.53 billion to stand at $629.75 billion in the week ended January 28, RBI data showed on Friday. In the previous week ended January 21, the reserves had decreased by $678 million to $634.29 billion. It touched a lifetime high of $642.45 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.
The country's foreign exchange reserves increased by $8.895 billion to reach a record high of $642.453 billion in the week ended September 3, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed. In the previous week ended August 27, the reserves had surged $16.663 billion to $633.558 billion, mainly due to a rise in special drawing rights (SDR) holdings. International Monetary Fund (IMF) had made an allocation of SDR 12.57 billion to India. For the week ended September 3, the increase was on account of a rise in foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves, RBI's weekly data released on Friday showed.
Declining for the third consecutive week, India's forex reserves dipped by $77 million to reach $635.83 billion for the week ended December 10, RBI data showed on Friday. In the previous week, the reserves had slid by $1.78 billion to $635.90 billion. In the reporting week ended December 10, the dip in the forex kitty was on account of a decline in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves.
India's foreign exchange reserves dropped by $1.087 billion to stand at $529.99 billion for the week ended November 4 on a sharp decline in gold reserves, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had swelled by $6.561 billion to reach $531.08 billion, making it the biggest weekly jump in a year. In October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.
New Delhi has a chance to rid itself of its image as the bully in the subcontinent by helping a neighbour tackle problems that India, for once, has no role in creating. It should grab the opportunity with both hands, suggests Aditi Phadnis.
The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $678 million to $634.29 billion in the week ended January 21, according to RBI data. In the previous week ended January 14, the reserves had increased by $2.23 billion to $634.96 billion. It touched a lifetime high of $642.45 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.
In the second consecutive week of an increase in the kitty, India's forex reserves have grown by $2.54 billion to $547.25 billion for the week ended November 18, the RBI said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall kitty had swelled by $14.72 billion in the highest weekly rise since August 2021 to $544.71 billion. It can be noted that in October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.
International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Gita Gopinath tells Indivjal Dhasmana high-frequency indicators for the third quarter of 2021 indicate momentum in economic recovery in India.
India's foreign exchange reserves soared by $11.02 billion to reach $561.162 billion for the week ended December 2, Reserve Bank data showed on Friday. This is the fourth consecutive week of rise in the reserves. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had grown by $2.9 billion to $550.14 billion. For the week ended November 11, the forex kitty had jumped by $14.72 billion in its second fastest weekly acceleration ever.
Ranil Wickremesinghe -- six times Sri Lanka's prime minister -- realised his long cherished dream when he arrived on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, to inaugurate the country's parliament, finally as its president.
The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $878 million to stand at $632.74 billion in the week ended January 7, RBI data showed on Friday. In the previous week ended December 31, the reserves had dropped by $1.47 billion to $633.61 billion. It had touched a lifetime high of $642.45 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.