Page 38 - Inflation

Operating environment to remain volatile amid global slowdown: HUL

Leading FMCG maker HUL expects the operating environment to remain volatile with global slowdown risks and weather-related uncertainty although price increase will tail off. In its annual report for 2022-23, the company said it anticipated a recovery in market volume gradually as consumption habits readjust with a lag. In the near term, the operating environment is expected to remain volatile with global slowdown risks and weather-related uncertainty, said the report. It further said,While inflation has moderated, commodities remain elevated vis--vis longer-term averages. Looking forward, we expect that the price-volume growth will rebalance. In the March quarter earnings call, HUL said the rural slowdown is "bottoming out" and a gradual recovery in volume is expected. However, HUL also warned that the near-term operating environment is likely to remain volatile due to global slowdown risk and uncertainty related to weather phenomena like El Nino, and heat waves. On the medium to

Growth momentum to hold amid easing inflation, says RBI annual report

Government capex increase in recent years expected to spur higher private investment in 2023-24, it says

Won't let guard down against inflation, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Economists expect inflation to fall further towards 4 per cent levels - the medium-term target of the central bank - in May

Inflation rate in India lesser than US, UK, Germany: Union minister Kishan

Asserting that the NDA has provided a corruption-free government to the nation in the last nine years, Union minister G Kishan Reddy on Monday claimed that the inflation rate in India was lesser than many other countries including the United States, United Kingdom and Germany. Reddy, who visited Bhubaneswar on the occasion of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government completing nine years in power at the Centre, told reporters, "The inflation rate in India is lesser than many developed countries including the US, UK, Germany and Japan. Even the fuel price in the country is lesser than many nations." On a query about unemployment, the Union Minister for Culture, Tourism And Development Of North Eastern Region (DoNER) claimed that the Centre is filling up "80,000 posts every month" and many youths are getting jobs in different sectors due to overall growth. He said India is manufacturing everything from toys to trains and defence equipment and youths will be benefited

RBI may reduce policy repo rate in fourth quarter of 2024: Oxford Economics

Global forecasting firm Oxford Economics on Monday said the RBI may cut key benchmark policy rate in the fourth quarter of the current calendar year as a mix of factors will allow the central bank to shift focus and adopt a more accommodative policy stance sooner. It further said inflation has already begun easing, and consumer inflation expectations are falling, so attention has shifted from estimating the peak level of the current hiking cycle to the timing of rate cuts. "We are updating our baseline view for India to include a first rate cut by the RBI in Q4 2023. "We think a mix of factors will allow the RBI to shift focus and adopt a more accommodative policy stance sooner," Oxford Economics said. It noted that despite easing price pressures recently, risks to inflation over the remainder of the year are to the upside. "The MPC will want to see clear signs that inflation is stabilising in the middle of its target range before considering a dovish move in our view this will .

UK's Treasury chief accepts that recession may be imp to lower inflation

Britain's Treasury chief said he would be prepared to see the UK economy slip back into recession if further interest rate hikes are necessary to bring down inflation. With the Bank of England expected to keep raising rates following higher-than-anticipated inflation figures this week, Jeremy Hunt said it was necessary to prioritise measures to slow the pace of price increases. In an interview with Sky News that aired on Friday, Hunt said the only path to sustainable growth is to bring inflation under control. Asked if he was comfortable with further rate hikes even if it could precipitate a recession, Hunt said, Yes, because in the end, inflation is a source of instability. ... It is not a trade-off between tackling inflation and recession." Like other central banks, the Bank of England has been raising interest rates aggressively over the past 18 months or so to a 15-year high of 4.5 per cent after inflation spiked sharply, first because of bottlenecks caused by the coronavirus .

'9 saal, 9 sawaal': Congress asks questions as Modi govt completes 9 years

The document which is titled '9 saal 9 sawaal' lists queries on various subjects which include the economy, corruption, Coronavirus management, and China border row among other things

Sri Lanka hopes for single digit inflation by year-end: Guv Weerasinghe

Sri Lanka's Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe has said the decisive policy measures taken by the government to deal with the catastrophic economic crisis will help reduce the country's hyperinflation to single-digit by the year-end. Weerasinghe who took over the economic recovery process at the height of the crisis last year said that short-term painful measures were vital to restore the long-term stability of Sri Lanka's economy. Addressing a symposium on entrepreneurship organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) here on Thursday, he said, "We have taken very decisive measures to curtail and prevent inflation rising, which went to the peak of 70 per cent. Now it is under 30 per cent. It will certainly be a single digit by the fourth quarter of this year with the measures that we have implemented." Commenting on the restrictive measures taken by the government to stabilise the island nation's economy, Weerasinghe said that collective policy measures are painf

RBI's Rs 10,000 note proposal: Inflation, demonetisation, and counterfeiting worries

Did you know RBI under Raghuram Rajan floated the idea of introducing Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 notes in 2014? Watch the video to know the tale of inflation, demonetisation, and counterfeiting concerns.

Germany enters recession as energy prices soared after Ukraine war

First-quarter output shrank 0.3% from the previous three months following a 0.5% drop between October and December, statistics office. Its initial estimate, last month, was for stagnation

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Inflation war not over; FY23 growth may top 7%: RBI Guv Shaktikanta Das

Entire exercise of withdrawing Rs 2,000 note will be completed in a non-disruptive manner, says Das

UK inflation falls to lowest in over a year but food prices remain elevated

Official figures show that inflation in the UK has fallen to its lowest level since the immediate aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which caused energy and food costs to surge. The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that the consumer price index dropped to 8.7 per cent in the year to April from 10.1 per cent in March, largely because last year's energy spike in the wake of the invasion dropped out of the annual comparison. The fall took inflation to its lowest level since March 2022, a month after the war began. Though welcome, the fall wasn't as big as anticipated. The consensus in financial markets was that it would ease back further to 8.3 per cent. The main reason why inflation is consistently running higher than anticipated is that food prices remain elevated. The rate of inflation fell notably as the large energy price rises seen last year were not repeated this April, but was offset partially by increases in the cost of second-hand cars and cigarettes," t

War on inflation not over, we have to remain alert: RBI Guv Shaktikanta Das

Das said that India's GDP growth rate in FY23 may come out to be more than earlier predictions of 7%

UK economy will avoid recession this year but inflation still a worry: IMF

The British economy will avoid falling into recession this year, according to upgraded growth forecasts Tuesday from the International Monetary Fund. In its latest assessment of the U.K. economy, the Washington-based fund said domestic demand had proven more resilient than anticipated in the face of the surge in energy costs. The IMF now thinks the British economy will grow by 0.4 per cent this year, up from its previous prediction of a 0.3 per cent decline. The forecast aligns with that from the Bank of England, which also upgraded its economic outlook this month. However, the IMF said inflation is likely to remain stubbornly high over the coming years and only return to the Bank of England's target of 2 per cent in mid-2025, six months longer than it predicted earlier this year. Like other central banks, the Bank of England has been raising interest rates aggressively over the past 18 months or so after inflation spiked sharply, first because of bottlenecks caused by the coronavi

Inflation momentum turning out to be softer than anticipated: RBI report

The report pointed out that corporate earnings are beating consensus expectations, with banking and financial sectors posting strong revenue performance, aided by robust credit growth

Crisil SME tracker: Inflation to hurt MSME growth in electronics sector

But growth will still be healthy as discounts and lower retail prices will cushion the fall

Economy likely to see downside risks to growth, upside risks to inflation

Economy is likely to see downside risks to growth and upside risks to inflation, partly due to challenges in country's external sector as well as weather-related uncertainties, finance ministry said

Expect RBI to start rate cuts by end of FY24: HDFC Bank chief economist

Abheek Barua said that the Indian economy is expected to grow at 4.4% in the quarter ended March 31

India remains a bright spot, economy expected to grow 6.7% in 2024: UN

However, higher interest rates and weaker external demand will continue to weigh on investment and exports in 2023, it said