Page 37 - Inflation

Inflation is slowing down personal consumption expenditure: RBI report

Even if the central bank has not ruled out further interest rate hikes, bank lending and deposit rates have started to soften

Inflation is slowing down personal consumption expenditure: RBI paper

Inflation is slowing down personal consumption expenditure, which in turn is moderating corporate sales and holding back private investment in capacity creation, said a Reserve Bank paper on Friday. The paper, authored by a team led by RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra, underlined the need for lowering inflation to revive consumer spending and boost corporate revenues and profitability. The retail inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI), which remained above 5 per cent during 2022-23, is now on the decline and fell to a two-year low of 4.25 per cent in May, following RBI's monetary policy actions and government measures. "Recent national accounts data and corporate results when read in conjunction clearly show that inflation is slowing down personal consumption expenditure. This, in turn, is moderating corporate sales and holding back private investment in capacity creation," said the article published in the RBI's latest bulletin. The Reserve Bank, however, sai

Rate hikes depend on India's inflation, not Fed, say external MPC members

Domestic markets have been concerned about India being pressured to follow the US Federal Reserve in raising rates to ensure that a too-narrow rate differential does not restrict dollar inflows

Interest rate hikes echo globally as inflation proves unrelenting

Swiss officials showed they're not ready to call time on monetary action either, even with inflation near 2%

RBI governor Das says job half done as MPC focuses on 4% inflation target

External members, however, point out high real rate, minutes show

UK inflation steady at 8.7% against forecasts, BoE set to raise rates

Consumer price inflation across the UK was unchanged at 8.7 per cent in the year to May against expectations for a modest decline, official figures showed on Wednesday, a development that is set to see the Bank of England raise the cost of borrowing again. The Office for National Statistics said rising prices for flights, recreational and cultural goods and services, and second-hand cars boosted the inflation rate, while gas prices at the pump provided the biggest downward pressure. After last month's fall, annual inflation was little changed in May and remains at a historically high level," the agency's chief economist Grant Fitzner said. Financial markets think news of the unchanged rate will mean the Bank of England will increase its benchmark interest rate on Thursday from the current 15-year high of 4.5 per cent. Like other central banks, the bank has aggressively raised borrowing rates over the past 18 months or so after inflation spiked sharply, first because of bottlenecks

Intense El Nino may push inflation up by 15-20 basic points, say experts

A deficient monsoon could push food inflation by 50-60 basis points; it is likely to have lower than 50 bps impact on headline inflation that the RBI talks about as potential negative impact

Wages are finally rising in Japan, as inflation eats away at consumer gains

Wages are rising in Japan more than they have in decades, at least for some workers. But so are prices, leaving many people feeling they must scrimp more than ever. In May, the consumer price index was up 3.2 per cent from a year earlier, well above the central bank's target of about 2 per cent. That's great news for policymakers trying to get the world's third largest economy out of the doldrums by keeping credit super cheap to spur demand and push prices higher. But a government survey of companies with five or more employees found real wages, taking into account higher prices, fell 3 per cent from the a year earlier in April, marking the 13th straight month of declines. Although all the major companies have raised wages this year, with large labour union members landing a 4 per cent hike, the highest in 30 years, a quarter of small and medium-size businesses employers of more than two-thirds of all workers gave no pay raises, according to the think tank Tokyo Shoko Research. M

Export growth still depends on demand in Europe, North America

The government is pinning its hopes on increased investment that its Production Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme may attract

Govt reform measures helping Indian economy to grow at faster pace: Goyal

The commerce and industry minister also said that the government has managed the rate of inflation in single digits

Inflation in Italy still exceeds eurozone level for 8th consecutive month

The last time prices rose at a higher rate in the eurozone than in Italy was in September 2022, when the rates were 9.9 per cent and 8.9 per cent, respectively

With falling inflation, stock markets about to hit 52 week high levels

With falling inflation, and healthy economic numbers, the two Indian stock markets opened and closed at a higher note on Friday and are near their 52 week high levels

Delayed monsoon can impact inflation, expect CPI at 5.2%: Deutsche Bank

A German brokerage on Friday warned that with the delayed monsoon, there is no scope for complacency on inflation even though official data for May has shown a cool-off. Deutsche Bank said it expects the average Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) for FY24 to come to 5.2 per cent against the 5.1 per cent estimate of the Reserve Bank of India and the consensus 5 per cent for analysts. "...with monsoon rains currently being 53 per cent below normal and given the history of food prices tending to shoot up in July following a poor start to monsoon, it is amply clear there is no scope for complacency at this stage as far as India's inflation risks are concerned," the brokerage said. The possibility of a 5 per cent or lower headline inflation can only play out if we are lucky and food prices do not rise in July and August, it added. July will be a key month as poor monsoon could drive a potentially sharp spike in July food price inflation, it said, adding that in the last two episodes of lowe

Bank of Japan keeps low rates and dovish guidance, markets not so sure

Central bank reiterated its view that inflation will slow later this year and pledge to "patiently" sustain stimulus

Why not pass benefits to people despite negative WPI: Cong to Centre

The Congress on Friday questioned the Centre that despite a negative wholesale price Index (WPI), why wasn't the people benefiting out of it

Turkey to continue monetary disciplines, market rules to tackle inflation

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said that the govt would maintain existing monetary disciplines and follow free market rules while raising overall economic competitiveness to curb inflation

Inflation tops expectations in Sweden. Experts say Beyonce is to blame

Data from the Swedish govt showed that the high inflation in May was primarily driven by a rise in hotel and restaurant prices in the country; experts say it was due to Beyonce's Renaissance tour

Haryana tops in inflation, unemployment, crime: Ex-CM Bhupinder Hooda

Reacting to the report, Hooda said inflation in the state has become so alarming that it has crossed the highest level fixed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), along with all states

Dollar down on soft inflation data as traders price in Fed rate hike skip

The dollar index - which measures the performance of the U.S. currency against six others - dipped 0.2% to 103.14, after touching its lowest since May 22 overnight at 103.04

May WPI inflation cools down further to -3.48%, lowest since November 2015

This is the second month in a row when wholesale inflation in India has been in the negative territory