Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday upped inflation projection for the current fiscal to 6.7 per cent from 5.7 per cent forecast in April. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the upside risk to inflation persists and the recent spike in tomato prices would fuel food inflation. Also, high global crude oil prices would add to the upside pressure on inflation. The upward revision in inflation projection comes as domestic retail inflation has remained above RBI's comfort level of 6 per cent for four months in a row, mainly due to the Russia-Ukraine war which has impacted the prices of commodities across the globe.
Jet fuel will cost Rs 37,300 per kl in Mumbai, home to the nation's busiest airport, from Rs 38,246.60. The reduced rates will help cash-strapped airlines cut fuel cost, which constitutes roughly 40 per cent of their operational cost.
Gold, silver, copper hit multi-year lows, Brent crude near $100 a barrel.
Loses notional value by 37.5% because of markdowns by investors
Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Tuesday said it is recalling around 994 units of its recently launched mid-sized sports utility vehicle Urban Cruiser Hyryder to fix a faulty seat belt part. In a statement, the company said it has initiated a voluntary recall campaign for certain Urban Cruiser Hyryder units to investigate for a possible issue with front seat belt shoulder height adjuster plate assembly. Around 994 vehicles of the specified models may have been impacted by this concern, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) said in a statement.
The price cuts by Coke and Pepsi follow the launch of the 200 ml size last year for Rs 5.
The prices of food items like mutton rose by 14 per cent, arhar by 9 per cent, gram by 4 per cent, fruit and vegetables by 2 per cent during the week. However, a major decline was registered in mineral index, as prices fell by 16.8 per cent mainly due to softening iron ore prices by 24 per cent and felspar by 3 per cent.
The wholesale price-based inflation rose to a four-month high of 14.55 per cent in March, mainly due to hardening of crude oil and commodity prices, even though vegetables witnessed easing of price pressures. As per the government data released on Monday, WPI inflation has remained in double digits for the 12th consecutive month beginning April 2021. The last time such a level of WPI was recorded was in November 2021, when inflation was 14.87 per cent.
Exports declined for the fourth-consecutive month by 10.3 per cent year-on-year to $34.98 billion in May, while the trade deficit widened to a five-month high of $22.12 billion. According to the data released by the commerce ministry on Thursday, key export sectors recording negative growth include petroleum products, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, ready-made garments of all textiles and chemicals. Imports also declined 6.6 per cent, six-month in a row, to $57.1 billion against $61.13 billion in the same month last year, the data showed.
The likelihood is that India will maintain a moderately upbeat economic tempo -- well short of tearaway growth, explains T N Ninan.
The party is very much united and working together, the AICC general secretary organisation said.
The restructuring of UTI, which started seven years ago when the country's oldest mutual fund failed to meet redemption obligations, is nearly complete.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday raised the retail inflation target for the current financial year to 5.7 per cent on the back of rising global prices amidst the ongoing geo-political tensions, even as it expected the prices of cereals and pulses to soften on prospects of good winter crop harvest. "Global food prices along with metal prices have hardened significantly. "Economy is grappling with a sharp rise in inflation... Inflation is now projected at 5.7 per cent in 2022-23 with Q1 at 6.3 per cent; Q2 at 5 per cent; Q3 at 5.4 per cent and Q4 at 5.1 per cent," RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said while unveiling the first monetary policy review for the current fiscal year.
Retail inflation dropped marginally to 7.01 per cent in June mainly due to slight easing in prices of vegetables and pulses, though it still remained above the Reserve Bank's comfort level for the sixth month in a row. The consumer price index (CPI) based inflation stood at 7.04 per cent in the preceding month of May and 6.26 per cent in June 2021. Inflation in the food basket in June 2022 was 7.75 per cent, compared to 7.97 per cent in the previous month, as per the National Statistical Office (NSO) data released on Tuesday.
The wholesale price inflation was negative for 10 weeks in a row, but retail prices of items consumed by people in villages rose at the rate of nearly 13 per cent in the month of July.
Global Food Price Index showed a sharp jump in June.
The termination of the MoU came after the deal with the Brazilian government for supply of 20 million doses of the vaccine landed in controversy and attracted investigation by authorities in that country.
Extending gains for the fifth day in a row, gold prices surged to a 52-week high here at Rs 15,000 per ten gram on aggressive buying by funds in line with firming overseas trend.
A clutch of global financial institutions led by T Rowe Price, HSBC and an investment arm of the Government of Singapore are the lead investors in the Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue of UB Holdings.
The hike comes on back of two massive hikes effected on February 1 and 16.
Food prices saw a sharp rise of 3.12 per cent in March compared to 2.69 per cent in the previous month
Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by 183 runs in the first Test to record their first win in more than two years.
The country's chief economic adviser Kaushik Basu had last month said he expects the hike in fuel prices to lead to one percentage point rise in inflation.
The Reserve Bank of India's rate-setting panel on Wednesday began its three-day deliberations on the next bi-monthly monetary policy amid expectations of at least a 35-basis-point hike in the interest rate to check high inflation. If raised, it will be the third consecutive hike in the repo rate -- the short-term rate at which the RBI lends money to banks. The central bank has already announced to gradually withdraw its accommodative monetary policy stance.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that in the 'Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK)' series under which the Congress posed questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party had asked him about his "favourite business group's links with the Chinese citizen Chang Chung-Ling (aka Lingo Chang) who has been a director in several Adani Group companies along with Vinod Adani and also made an appearance in the Panama Papers".
The task of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to keep inflation under check, even when the country reeled under severe drought for two years in a row, and reduce the current account deficit, was made easier by low crude oil prices.
The funds will be used to expand the merchant offerings across India to equip them with technology and various other services.
It would be a difficult task for the Indian economy to reach the $5-trillion mark a year before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projection of 2026-27. Pankaj Chaudhary, minister of state for finance, said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that the government is taking steps to make the country a $5-trillion economy at a date earlier than the IMF's projection. In that context, it would not be difficult to meet the projection in the third quarter of FY27.
Fine arts auction house Christie's on Thursday sold artist MF Husain's paintings, including one for a hammer price of $ 1.4 million. Outside the Christie's building in New York, up to 30 supporters of the Indian American Intellectual Forum staged a two-hour protest chanting 'Shame, shame, MF Husain' and 'Boycott Christie's!'. At least 12 of Husain's paintings were auctioned, where the theme was South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art.
The 22-year-old has signed on an eight-and-a-half-year contract in deal worth 100 million euros ($108 million).
Besides, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has also added another blow to FMCG makers as they expect a rise in the prices of wheat, edible oil and crude. Companies such as Dabur and Parle are watching the situation and will undertake calibrated price increases to mitigate the inflationary pressures.
Gandhi said the govt "tried everything to stop" his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', but nothing was working against the "effect" of the foot march.
Two Adani group companies -- Adani Enterprises and Adani Transmission -- have uprooted the traditional leader Reliance Industries in annual wealth creation in 2022 so far, while the top 100 of them created a massive Rs 92.2 lakh crore of wealth, according to a report. However, Reliance Industries has smashed all records to emerge as the largest wealth creator during the five-year period ending March 2022, says the leading brokerage Motilal Oswal in its 27th annual wealth creation study. The Gautam Adani group companies have been rallying to dizzying heights in the year as the group snapped up many assets and diversified into newer areas.
In twin blows to Indian economic revival, higher food prices drove retail inflation to a five-month high of 7.4 per cent while factory output fell for the first time in 18 months. The second consecutive month of rise in consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation will add to the pressure on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to again raise interest rates to tame high prices. Inflation has been above the targeted zone for the ninth month in a row and as per statute, the RBI will now have to explain to the government in writing why it failed to keep prices below 6 per cent.
Adani group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group. The group has maintained it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.
Mid-day Multimedia Ltd said on Saturday it has raised the investment limit of foreign institutional investors and non-resident Indians in the company to 26 per cent.
India has built up buffers against cyclical difficulties and has ample foreign exchange reserves to withstand pressure on credit worthiness, S&P Global Ratings said on Thursday. Speaking at the India Credit Spotlight 2022 webinar, S&P Sovereign & International Public Finance Ratings director Andrew Wood said the country has a strong external balance sheet and limited external debt, making debt servicing not so expensive. "The country has built up buffers against cyclical difficulties like those, which we are experiencing right now," Wood said.
The wholesale price-based inflation in February rose to 13.11 per cent on hardening of prices of crude oil and non-food items, even though food articles softened. After two months of mild easing, WPI inflation accelerated in February and remained in double digits for the 11th consecutive month, beginning April 2021. WPI inflation last month was 12.96 per cent, while in February last year, it was 4.83 per cent. The rise in crude oil and natural gas prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, beginning February 24, has put pressure on the wholesale price index, even though food articles saw softening across categories of vegetables to pulses to protein-rich items.