inflation

December 4, 2024 12:52 PM

RBI MPC meet begins, focus on inflation control

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) began its three-day meeting on Wednesday, chaired by Governor Shaktikanta Das. The discussions will conclude on December 6, with the policy decisions scheduled to be announced on the same day. The committee is expected to maintain the current repo rate at 6.5 percent, which has remained unchanged for the last nine meetings and the status quo may continue for some more time, as an immediate rate cut may not be easy for the MPC to ...

December 2, 2024 9:07 PM

India’s manufacturing PMI dips to 56.5 in November but remains in expansion zone

India's manufacturing sector showcased resilience in November despite mounting cost pressures and fierce competition. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 56.5, slipping from October's 57.5 and matching an 11-month low. However, the PMI remained well above the 50-mark threshold, signaling continued expansion in the sector. A robust demand environment drove growth in sales and output, but escalating costs and competitive pressures tempered th...

October 14, 2024 8:22 PM

Retail inflation rises to 5.49% in September, driven by food prices

India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation rose to 5.49% in September, up from 3.65% in August, reflecting a sharp increase driven primarily by rising food prices. Rural inflation stood at 5.87%, while urban inflation was recorded at 5.05%, highlighting continued price pressures across regions. The Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) surged to 9.24% in September, with urban food inflation at 9.56% and rural food inflation at 9.08%. The rise was attributed to elevated prices across severa...

September 18, 2024 2:14 PM

With Fed’s rate cut at hand, debate swirls over how big a move

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday almost certainly will lower interest rates for the first time in more than four years as the U.S. central bank starts to reverse the restrictive conditions it imposed to beat back inflation, but whether policymakers opt for a half-percentage-point cut or smaller move remains up in the air. Their choice on how they want to kick off a new easing cycle - less than two months before what is expected to be a close U.S. presidential election - likely hinges more on wh...

August 22, 2024 9:38 AM

Bangladesh: Government to publish ‘white paper on the state of the economy’

In Bangladesh, the interim government has taken a decision to publish a white paper on the state of the economy in six priority areas, including public finance, inflation, and food management. An economist and a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Debapriya Bhattacharya will be the chief of a panel of economists and eminent citizens, who will come up with the white paper, according to the press wing at the Chief Adviser's office. The committee will publish the white pa...

June 27, 2024 10:27 AM

Asia stocks down, yen slump keeps markets on intervention alert

Asian shares fell and bond yields spiked on nervousness about inflation on Thursday, while the yen's slide past 160-per-dollar had currency traders bracing for Japan to step in and steady it. The dollar made six-week highs on sterling and the kiwi and at 160.7 yen traded just shy of Thursday's 38-year peak. The jittery mood had frothy sectors of financial markets especially vulnerable and Nasdaq futures dropped 0.5%. Shares in bellwether chipmaker Micron Technology slid 8% in U.S. after-hours ...

June 24, 2024 11:02 AM

Asia shares slip as inflation, politics call for caution

Asia shares slipped on Monday in a countdown for U.S. price data that investors are banking on to show a renewed moderation in inflation, while markets were on alert for possible Japanese intervention as the dollar tested the 160 yen barrier. Geopolitics also loomed large, with the first U.S. presidential debate on Thursday and the first round of voting in the French election at the weekend. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.9%, after touching a two-year top las...

September 16, 2024 6:35 PM

India’s wholesale inflation rises from 1.26% to 2.61% in May, pushed by food, energy prices

Wholesale inflation in India, based on the Wholesale Price Index rose to 2.61 per cent in May versus 1.26 reported in April, official data from the Commerce Ministry showed on Friday. Thus, it remained in positive territory for the seventh month after remaining in the negative zone for seven months until October. The high rate of wholesale inflation in April was primarily due to an increase in prices of food articles and minerals. In the food basket, cereals, paddy, pulses, vegetables, potato,...

June 13, 2024 11:23 AM

Fed leaves rates unchanged, sees only one 2024 cut despite inflation progress

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and pushed out the start of rate cuts to perhaps as late as December as policymakers sketched out their view of an economy that remains virtually unchanged across its major dimensions for years to come. With growth and unemployment lodged at levels better than the U.S. central bank considers sustainable in the long run, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said policymakers were content to leave rates where they are until the economy sends a clear ...

June 12, 2024 5:35 PM

Fed expected to hold rates steady, project fewer cuts in 2024

The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, with new economic projections from the U.S. central bank's policymakers likely to show fewer rate cuts this year and a delayed start to monetary policy easing. Fed officials will receive a new round of inflation data that could shape their outlook just hours before they conclude their latest two-day meeting and release a fresh policy statement and updated quarterly projections. But with the Fed's efforts to lower i...