Page 5 - Global Economy

China's consumer prices up first time in 6 months on Lunar New Year gains

The consumer price index (CPI) climbed 0.7% year-on-year in February, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Saturday

Fitch upgrades Turkey's sovereign rating to B+ on tighter monetary policies

"Upgrade reflects increased confidence in the durability and effectiveness of policies implemented since the pivot in June 2023," Fitch said

China's exports, imports beat estimates, trade surplus of over $125 bn

China's exports and imports for the first two months of the year beat estimates, an indication that demand may be improving as Beijing attempts to boost economic recovery. Exports for the January-February period grew 7.1 per cent from a year earlier, customs data released Thursday showed, higher than the 2.3 per cent rise in December. Imports rose 3.5 per cent from the same time last year, up from a 0.2 per cent growth in December. China posted a trade surplus of USD 125.16 billion. Though China usually releases trade data monthly, the data for the first two months of the year are combined to avoid disruptions from the weeklong Lunar New Year holidays, when many businesses and factories are closed. The world's second-largest economy has struggled to bounce back after the pandemic, as it grapples with weaker demand globally as well as a domestic property crisis that remains a drag on the economy. Demand for Chinese exports has also been weak since the Federal Reserve and central b

Feb consumer price inflation forecast to edge down to 4-month low: Poll

Rises in food prices, which make up almost half of the consumer price index (CPI) basket and experience sharp swings often due to uneven monsoons, have recently outpaced overall inflation

Australian, Vietnamese PMs elevate their nations' economic relations

Australian and Vietnamese prime ministers on Thursday discussed ways of improving an already booming economic relationship, as part of Australia's strategy to diversify trade away from China. Vietnamese Pham Minh Chinh's official state visit came after he attended a summit of Southeast Asian leaders this week co-chaired by his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese and Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone. The Vietnam bilateral relationship has proved a success in Australia's hedge against Chinese economic moves. Australia says China's official and unofficial trade barriers have cost Australian exporters up to 20 billion Australian dollars (USD 13 billion) a year since 2020, though those steps have been relaxed gradually since Albanese's government came to power in 2022. Albanese said trade between Australia and Vietnam had increased 75 per cent in two years to USD 25.7 billion in 2022, the most recent year for which data was available. Vietnam had become Australia's ...

Federal Reserve in no rush to cut interest rates, says Jerome Powell

In prepared testimony to a House panel Wednesday, the Fed chief said it will likely be appropriate to begin lower borrowing costs "at some point this year," but made clear they're not ready yet

Hiring spree: US companies added 140,000 jobs in February, shows ADP data

Private payrolls increased by 140,000 last month after a 111,000 gain in January, according to figures published Wednesday by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Stanford Digital Economy

China retains 5% growth target as economy struggles to shake off slowdown

The country expects to create over 12 million jobs in urban areas and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at around 5.5 per cent this year, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said

China's services activity growth momentum softens in Feb: Caixin PMI

Despite robust activity during the eight-day Lunar New Year holidays, the expansion rate of new business was little-changed from January, the Caixin survey showed

Amid tensions, Iran to elect parliamentary, religious leaders today

Iranians are bracing for a pivotal moment as they prepare to cast their votes on Friday in parliamentary elections that will elect religious leaders, Al Jazeera reported.

Q3 GDP may slide to 6.7-6.9% on poor farm sector show: SBI Research

The Indian economy is likely to grow at 6.7-6.9 per cent in December quarter FY24 as compared to 7.6 per cent growth in the second quarter on poor performance in the farm sector, a report by SBI Research said on Wednesday. The report comes a day ahead of the release of official GDP data for the third quarter of 2023-24 financial year. India retained the tag of the world's fastest-growing major economy, with its GDP expanding by a faster-than-expected rate of 7.6 per cent in September quarter on booster shots from government spending and manufacturing. The 6.7-6.9 per cent growth forecast by SBI Research is lower than the Reserve Bank's 7 per cent growth projection for the quarter. SBI Research has projected Q4 GDP at 6.8 per cent. SBI Research said the biggest reason for the lower growth forecast is the very poor show by the farm sector as, barring fisheries, the whole sector is badly affected. As per the first advance estimates, the production of major kharif crops in 2023-24 is

Pakistan's new govt will prioritise 'fixing' economy: Nawaz Sharif

Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said the priority of the upcoming government led by his party will be to "fix" the ailing economy as all the problems plaguing the cash-strapped nation were linked to the economic woes. The government will try to fix the economy which would in turn fix everything, Sharif, the supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) told the media after arriving at the Parliament House for the first time since the February 8 elections. Sharif, who surprisingly nominated his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif to be the prime minister of a coalition government, also said that he wishes every National Assembly, Senate and Prime Minister to complete their constitutional term. No prime minister in coup-prone Pakistan has completed his/her five-year term. Sharif became prime minister thrice but was removed on all three occasions in mid-term. Earlier, he was welcomed by prime minister candidate Shehbaz Sharif and other members of his

World economy has growing chance of pulling off soft landing: G20

The statement reflects a relatively upbeat view of a global economy that's struggled in recent years to overcome the impact of the pandemic, soaring inflation and a sharp increase in interest rates

Govt expresses concerns in WTO meet over unilateral protectionist measures

India on Monday expressed "serious" concerns in a WTO meeting in Abu Dhabi over increase in the use of trade protectionist measures by certain countries in the name of environment protection. The remarks assume significance as the country has earlier flagged issues over the European Union's (EU) decision to impose carbon tax (a kind of import tax) on sectors such as steel and fertiliser; and adoption of deforestation regulation by the 27-nation bloc. Speaking at a session on sustainable development and policy space for industrialisation, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said developing countries require flexibility in the existing WTO (World Trade Organization) agreements to overcome the constraints faced by them in their industrialisation. He also expressed concerns on the concerted attempt by the developed countries to club long-standing development issues like policy space for industrial development with new issues of 'Trade and Industrial policy'. The CBAM (Carbon Border ...

Global economy weighed down by war, uncertainty & instability: WTO chief

The head of the World Trade Organisation warned on Monday that war, uncertainty and instability are weighing down the global economy and urged the bloc to embrace reform as elections across nearly half the world's population could bring new challenges. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala sought to offer some praise for her organisation as it held its binneial meeting in the United Arab Emirates, even as it faces pressure from the United States and other nations. But she was blunt about the risks ahead, as higher prices for food, energy and other essentials sting people's pockets, fuelling political frustration. People everywhere are feeling anxious about the future and this will be felt at the ballot box this year, she said. None are perhaps more critical for the WTO than the US presidential election on November 5. Running again is former President Donald Trump, who threatened to withdraw the US from the WTO and repeatedly levied tariffs taxes on imported goods on perceived

Private capital yet to embrace energy transition, says CEA Nageswaran

While urging multilateral development banks to act on the recommendations of the independent expert group under India's Group of Twenty (G20) presidency to mobilise private capital, the CEA added

The Nato conundrum

A possible Trump presidency is bad news

German economy in 'troubled waters', govt cuts its growth forecast

The German government said Europe's largest economy was in troubled waters and slashed its growth forecast for this year as it struggles with a lack of skilled labour, excessive bureaucracy, high interest rates and lagging investment in new projects while a relatively modest set of tax breaks for business remains blocked in the legislature. The growth forecast was lowered to 0.2% from the previous forecast from last fall of 1.3%. That would follow a shrinking of the economy by 0.3% for all of last year. Germany is recovering more slowly than we hoped from the shock of Russia cutting off most supplies of natural gas after its invasion of Ukraine, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said as he presented the government's annual economic report. The economy is in troubled waters. The loss of Russian gas in Germany led to a spike in energy costs that hammered energy intensive industries and contributed to high consumer inflation that eroded purchasing power and made consumers more reluctant t

Canada's rate of inflation slows, boosts bets on early interest rate cut

The January inflation figure "will certainly raise the odds on an April rate cut," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay

'US-India alliance for women's economic empowerment being revitalised'

An alliance between the US and India that seeks to facilitate women's economic participation in India by catalysing commitments from private sector, civil society and government leaders in both countries is being revitalised, a senior US diplomat said on Tuesday. The US-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment will work across the board to harness the resources of the private sector and NGOs to foster commitments for women's retention, and stem employment and entrepreneurship, Deputy Chief of Mission in India Patricia A Lacina said. She was delivering the keynote address at the WEConnect International Empowering Inclusion-Advancing Value Chains Summit 2024. "...we are revitalising the US-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment. A public-private partnership to enhance mentorship," she said. Last year, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), the US Department of State, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the George Washington University .