Top Headlines: Petro products export share rises; RBI rate hike, and more

With the price index surprising on the upside in August, many analysts have pencilled in a higher inflation print in September as well and accordingly expect the RBI to frontload policy rate hikes

A few automakers, global as well as Indian, were not letting domestic component manufacturers localise their production and were forcing them to import from suppliers they preferred, Piyush Goyal said. High international energy prices and cheaper crude oil sourced from Russia have lifted the share of India’s petroleum products in exports to their highest ever at 21.2 per cent during April-August. Read more on these in our top headlines.

Goyal warns automakers against forcing component makers to import

A few automakers, global as well as Indian, were not letting domestic component manufacturers localise their production and were forcing them to import from suppliers they preferred, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. “It has been brought to my attention that some auto ancillary companies that have collaboration with other firms around the world are also facing some stress and pressure from their joint venture partners (to import),” he said. Read more
 

Share of petro products in exports touch record high at 21.2% in Apr-Aug

High international energy prices and cheaper crude oil sourced from Russia have lifted the share of India’s petroleum products in exports to their highest ever at 21.2 per cent during April-August. India’s heavy energy exports have boosted its outbound merchandise shipments. Read more
 

Analysts see RBI delivering another 35-50 bps repo hike on Sep 30

With the price index surprising on the upside in August, many analysts have pencilled in a higher inflation print in September as well and accordingly expect the central bank to frontload policy rate hikes, delivering another 35 bps later this month. Confounding the worries on the inflation front, retail inflation accelerated to 7 per cent on-year in August from 6.7 per cent in the previous month -- staying above the upper tolerance limit of the central bank for all the eight months of 2022. Read more
 

Rice prices soften in domestic markets after ban; exports may shrink by 25%

Trade and market sources said that rice prices across major mandis in the country have softened by around Rs 100-200 per quintal ever since the world’s biggest exporter of the grain late last week banned shipments of broken rice and imposed a 20 per cent duty on exports of various other grades as the country tries to boost supplies and calm prices after below-average monsoon curtailed planting. Read more
 

'Covid end in sight, deaths at lowest since March 2020,' says WHO

The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that the number of coronavirus deaths worldwide last week was the lowest reported in the pandemic since March 2020, marking what could be a turning point in the years-long global outbreak. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the world has never been in a better position to stop Covid-19. Read more