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GDP Growth
The Japanese economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.1% in the January-March quarter, the government said Tuesday, showing its resilience despite rising energy prices because of the war in Iran. Japan's real gross domestic product, or GDP, the sum value of a nation's goods and services, grew at a seasonally adjusted 0.5% from the previous quarter. It was the second straight quarter of growth. The annualised number shows what the growth, or contraction, would have been if the quarterly rate continued for a year. Increased spending by consumers and businesses helped contribute to the stronger than expected results. Higher government spending also supported the expansion. Private consumption rose 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, or at an annualised rate of 1.1%, according to the preliminary data from the Cabinet Office. Public demand rose 0.3% from the previous quarter. Japan's economy contracted in July-September last year, then eked out moderate growth in October-December of 0.2% on-quarter
India's current account deficit is set to widen to 2.3 per cent of GDP in FY27 from 0.9 per cent in FY26, a foreign brokerage said on Monday. The balance of payments (BoP) deficit is estimated to widen to USD 65 billion in the current fiscal from the last fiscal year's USD 35 billion, it said. HSBC said it has assumed crude prices to average USD 95 a barrel, and combined it with sensitivities in oil, gold, core goods, services trade and remittances to arrive at a current account deficit of 2.3 per cent of GDP in FY27 as against 0.9 per cent in FY26. The BoP forecast has been made after growing through trends in portfolio inflows, FDI flows, and external commercial borrowing (ECBs), it said. The report also looked at forex reserves and opined that the nearly USD 700 billion kitty seems sufficient from the traditional perspective, but suggested the need to look at it from a dynamic perspective, better for the current times of heightened risks amid recurring global shocks. "Using a .
India's GDP growth may slip to around 6 per cent and retail inflation could rise to RBI's upper tolerance band of 6 per cent in the current fiscal, if the Indian crude basket price averages USD 120 a barrel, EY India said on Wednesday. EY India Chief Policy Advisor DK Srivastava said, although room for policy interventions is limited, policymakers need to consider upward revision in the repo rate and accelerated diversification of sources of crude supply as the price of the Indian crude basket (ICB) may rise further if the West Asian crisis persists. "If the ICB price averages USD 120 per barrel in FY27, India's real GDP growth may slip to about 6 per cent and CPI inflation may increase to 6 per cent... To minimise the adverse impact on fiscal deficit, increased energy prices should be passed on to the retailers to a relatively larger extent," Srivastava said. The April 2026 release of the US Energy Information Administration EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook projects Brent crude oil ..
Domestic consumption is sustaining the growth momentum in the economy, and predictable policy support is essential to ensure that the pace of GDP expansion continues, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday. Speaking at an event organised by SBI here, Sitharaman also said that a committee of bankers is looking into the issue of whether to allow exclusive distribution tie-ups for selling third-party products by banks or adopt an open architecture approach. She also urged banks to focus on the physical contact with customers as they go global and digital. The minister further said that the disinvestment process of IDBI Bank will continue going ahead. "...consumption emerging out of its domestic market itself is able to sustain our growth, which is the fastest even now in the world," she said. The finance minister said that while it is necessary for the consumption for the growth process to continue, it is also pertinent to have predictable policies. "...unless our