Rupee is down to a record low, dragging stocks and bonds. And with few signs the commodity boom will end soon, investors are bracing for more possible losses.
With oil costs now 40% higher than they were two weeks ago, Chinese businesses are facing a profit squeeze and a fall in global demand for Chinese-made goods.
The surge in edible and crude oil prices are bound to feed into headline inflation, which has already breached the upper tolerance limit of RBI's 2-6% target range.
Material costs for industry will go up, pandemic recovery will take longer. But question is how long oil prices will stay high, with West avoiding sanctions on Russia’s energy sector.
This is worrying for the US Fed and fellow central banks as they seek to contain the strongest price pressures in decades without derailing recoveries from the pandemic.
More cars have thronged the main roads in December amid year-end festivities than seen last month. All but one major Asian country registered a rise in mobility on-month.
The Modi govt had hiked duties & cesses on fuels like petrol and diesel to record levels after a sharp dip in global crude prices last year resulting in higher revenue collections.
The effective duty, which includes cess and other charges, on crude palm oil will be 30.25% while for refined palm oil it would be 41.25% from Wednesday.
While bond yields tend to fall amid low inflation & interest rate cuts, market experts say they’ve been rising due to concerns over tax collections, fiscal deficit & potential impact of US tariffs.
It is one of the most advanced long-range air defence and anti-missile radars. It has been acquired under an about USD 145-million deal signed in 2020.
To be truly functional and durable, even eternal, a state doesn’t just need a leader, a party or an ideology. It needs functional and robust institutions.
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