Page 31 - Inflation

Fed's inflation gauge shows modest rise in sign of slowing price increases

An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Federal Reserve remained low last month, adding to signs of cooling price increases and raising the likelihood that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged when it next meets in late September. Thursday's report from the Commerce Department showed that prices rose just 0.2 per cent from June to July, the third straight modest increase. Compared with a year earlier, prices rose 3.3 per cent in July, up from a 3 per cent annual increase in June. The year-over-year figure, though, is down sharply from the 7 per cent peak it reached a year ago, though still above the Fed's 2 per cent inflation target. The latest data follows other recent reports that suggest the economy and the job market may be slowing enough to cool inflation pressures. The number of advertised job openings, for example, tumbled in July, and fewer Americans are quitting their jobs to seek better opportunities. Both trends ease the pressure on companies to raise pay to find

Europe's inflation held steady in Aug as CenBank keeps open mind on rates

Annual inflation held steady in Europe in August as food prices raced ahead of falling fuel costs, but there was no clarity about whether the European Central Bank can pause its record series of interest rate hikes. The consumer price index for the 20 countries that use the euro currency was unchanged at 5.3 per cent from the July reading, supported by food, alcohol and tobacco prices that increased a painful 9.8 per cent, according to official figures Thursday from EU statistics agency Eurostat. Another key inflation number so-called core inflation that leaves out volatile fuel and food also eased in August, falling to 5.3 per cent from 5.5 per cent. That figure will be a key consideration for the ECB in deciding whether interest rates need to go higher, or can remain unchanged to judge their impact on the economy. Fuel prices fell 3.3 per cent amid flat global oil prices and diminished summer demand for heating fuel. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has said t

US economic growth for last quarter is revised down to 2.1% annual rate

The US economy expanded at a 2.1 per cent annual pace from April through June, showing continued resilience in the face of higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, the government said Wednesday in a downgrade from its initial estimate. The government had previously estimated that the economy expanded at a 2.4 per cent annual rate last quarter. The Commerce Department's second estimate of growth last quarter marked a slight acceleration from a 2 per cent annual growth rate from January through March. Though the economy has been slowed by the Federal Reserve's strenuous drive to tame inflation with interest rate hikes, it has managed to keep expanding, with employers still hiring and consumers still spending. Wednesday's report on the nation's gross domestic product the total output of goods and services showed that growth last quarter was driven by upticks in consumer spending and business investment. The American economy the world's largest has proved surprisingly

Govt likely to focus on motor fuel prices ahead of 2024 polls: Citigroup

The government's decision to reduce liquefied petroleum gas could lower inflation by around 30 basis points, economists Samiran Chakraborty and Baqar M. Zaidi said in a note

Inflation will remain steady in coming months, growth on track: FinMin

Food price inflation rose to 11.5% in July, its highest in more than 3-1/2 years, while India is set to receive its sparsest monsoon rains in eight years

Gas subsidy signals inflation as key plank for upcoming elections

The government said the decision "will bring respite to households across the nation" and "ensure access to essential commodities at reasonable rates"

Only recession can tame West's inflation, says adviser to UK chancellor

While European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Powell offered few clues about their next steps at their upcoming decisions, each signaled ongoing concern about prices

India's farming input inflation saw marginal dip in last few months

WPI-based food inflation remained subdued since November last year, but rose in July, higher than the consumer price index inflation at 11.51 per cent

Nationwide protests in Pak gain momentum against inflated electricity bills

Protests against the exorbitant electricity prices have spread across the entire nation, from Karachi to Khyber, and some protests are now turning violent

Seeing green shoots of pickup on volumes as inflation moderates: ITC CMD

As inflation is moderating, diversified group ITC is seeing green shoots of volume growth and expects the momentum to continue sequentially, its Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri said on Sunday. This will certainly lead to improvement in volume, but it will not happen overnight, said Puri here on the sidelines of the B20 Summit organised by the CII. Over the ITC's plan for the demerger of its hotel business, Puri said it is going to benefit the existing shareholders by incorporating a wholly-owned new subsidiary ITC Hotels Ltd. "It will be a pure-play, focused on hospitality, which can leverage the institutional strengths of ITC. And ITC in turn will be able to leverage the synergy on its hospitality business, or its FMCG businesses," Puri told PTI. It is a "very robust" model, which will help the business to make the hotel business accelerate progress, whilst retaining synergies and it will improve the financial metrics of ITC, he added. Over inflation, Puri said this is

Global inflation pressures could become harder to manage in future: Study

Rising trade barriers. Aging populations. A broad transition from carbon-spewing fossil fuels to renewable energy. The prevalence of such trends across the world could intensify global inflation pressures in the coming years and make it harder for the Federal Reserve and other central banks to meet their inflation targets. That concern was a theme sounded in several high-profile speeches and economic studies presented Friday and Saturday at the Fed's annual conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. For decades, the global economy had been moving toward greater integration, with goods flowing more freely between the United States and its trading partners. Lower-wage production overseas allowed Americans to enjoy inexpensive goods and kept inflation low, though at the expense of many US manufacturing jobs. Since the pandemic, though, that trend has shown signs of reversing. Multinational corporations have been shifting their supply chains away from China. They are seek

Germany's inflation trauma of 1923 strikes an unpleasant chord today

Soaring energy costs helped trigger a recession that's exposed economic frailties. Heightened inequality, meanwhile, is fueling a resurgence of far-right political forces

Fed's Powell says higher rates may be needed, will move 'carefully'

"It is the Fed's job to bring inflation down to our 2% goal, and we will do so," Powell said in a keynote address to the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium

Beyond forming an alliance: INDIA must offer more than the govt's criticism

Building the temple in Ayodhya, removing J&K's special status, and ending the so-called minority appeasement may be Mr PM's pitch to beat the criticism on inflation and unemployment, writes T N Ninan

RBI may hike rates in case cereal inflation picks up, say analysts

According to the note, if price pressures around cereal inflation begin to pick up further, then the RBI may be forced to use rate action

B20 Summit India: My priority is to tame inflation, says FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the government's priority is to tame inflation to ensure sustained economic growth. Addressing the B20 Summit India, being hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the minister said the GDP numbers for the first quarter, to be released this month, should be good. Observing that elevated interest rates for considerable time hampers recovery, Sitharaman said, "my priority is to tame inflation." Retail inflation soared to a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July, mainly on account of spiralling prices of tomatoes and vegetables. On growth, she said that India has been able to accelerate the pace of economic reforms and the first quarter GDP numbers "should be good." The National Statistical Office is scheduled to release the GDP numbers for the first quarter on August 31. Sitharaman said that "green shoots' of private capital expenditure can be felt on back of the government's push for capital expenditure in the budget.

India's retail inflation surges on food prices in challenge to Modi govt

Food inflation, which accounts for nearly half of the overall consumer price basket, hit a staggering 11.51% in July as compared with a revised 4.55% in June

Inflation may stay elevated in coming months, says finance ministry

The government's continued emphasis on capital expenditure is expected to drive growth in the coming years, the finance ministry said in its monthly economic review for the month of July

Analysts see bond yields hitting 7.5% in near-term; how should you invest?

Over the past one month, the yields on 10-year government bonds have risen 14.7 basis points to 7.218 per cent in India, while they have touched a 17-year high of 4.35 per cent in the US

BS Policy & Politics: Food-driven retail inflation may cool only in Sept

Cereals, pulses and milk were other food items to push up the rate of price rise in July, prompting the government to take more measures to tame prices