INDIA
1)India’s retail inflation in July dropped to 3.54%, marking a near five-year low as food prices eased, government data showed. The actual figure fell below the Reserve Bank of India’s 4% target, primarily due to a high-base effect from last year.
2)Food prices, which constitute nearly half of the retail inflation basket, saw a significant slowdown, rising only 5.42% year-on-year in July compared to a 9.36% increase in June. Notably, vegetable prices rose by 6.83% in July, a sharp decline from the 29.32% surge in the previous month.
3)India’s Manufacturing output rose 2.6% in June, compared to a 3.5% rise a year ago. Electricity generation was up 8.6%, compared to a 4.2% rise last year, while mining activity grew 10.3% as against a 7.6% increase last year
4)The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) shows a growth rate of 4.2% for June 2024.
5)India’s wholesale inflation declined to 2.04 percent in July from a 16-month high of 3.4 percent in the previous month as a favourable base in food products helped keep prices contained, according to data released by the government on August 14.
6)India’s net direct tax collection grew 22.48 per cent to about Rs 6.93 lakh crore as of August 11 this fiscal, government said on Monday (12/8/24). The net direct tax collection includes a personal income tax collection of Rs 4.47 lakh crore and corporate tax collection of Rs 2.22 lakh crore. Securities Transaction Tax (STT) mopped up Rs 21,599 crore, while other taxes (which include equalization levy and gift tax) earned Rs 1,617 crore.
7)Gross direct tax collections from April 1 to August 11 have increased by 23.99 percent over the same period of the previous year, reaching 8.13 lakh crore rupees. The Income Tax Department said that collections were 6.55 lakh crore rupees during the same period last year.
8)India’s foreign exchange reserves decreased by $4.8 billion, hitting $670.12 billion for the week ending August 9. Foreign currency assets saw a decline of $4.079 billion, and gold reserves fell by $860 million. However, SDRs and the IMF reserve position experienced slight increases.
9)The Reserve Bank’s 2023-24 survey of Foreign Liabilities and Assets of Mutual Fund (MF) Companies covered 45 Indian MF companies and their Asset Management Companies (AMCs). The foreign liabilities of MF companies increased by 36.0% during 2023-24, reaching US$ 25.4 billion at market value by March 2024, mainly due to units issued to non-residents. Overseas assets rose to US$ 8.8 billion, driven by an increase in equity securities, resulting in net foreign liabilities of US$ 16.6 billion, up from US$ 12.0 billion a year ago. The UAE, USA, UK, and Singapore were the leading destinations for MF units held by non-residents, while the USA and Luxembourg accounted for nearly 85% of the overseas equity investment.
10)The Reserve Bank of India released survey of Foreign Liabilities and Assets of the Mutual Fund (MF) Companies for the 2023-24 round according to which foreign liabilities in Asset Management Companies increased by US$ 3.4 billion to US$ 6.4 billion in March 2024, owing to higher inward direct and portfolio investments. Their overseas assets remained low at US$ 0.1 billion. Residents of Japan, Canada, and the UK accounted for 83% of FDI in Indian AMCs.
11)India’s trade deficit grew to $23.5 billion in July as exports declined 1.4% to $34 billion, mainly due to a drop in petrol, diesel, and gems exports. Imports increased 7.5% to $57.5 billion, with crude oil imports rising 17% to $13.9 billion.
12)The Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim Bank) has projected that the country’s total merchandise exports are expected to reach USD 111.7 billion, marking a year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 4.2 per cent and non-oil exports are anticipated to amount to USD 89.8 billion, reflecting a y-o-y growth of 6.26 per cent in the second quarter (July-September) of the fiscal year 2025.
13)The central government has cut the windfall tax on petroleum crude to ₹2,100 per metric ton from ₹4,600 per metric ton, effective from August 17. India revises the windfall tax on petroleum crude every fortnight based on the movement of international crude and product prices.
14)Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pumped a total of ₹64,824 crore into Indian equities in the last 12 months—from August 2023 to August 2024 so far, driven by India’s robust macroeconomic fundamentals and resilient market sentiments.
15)As of August 13, FPI outflows amounted to ₹17,404 crore, a sharp contrast from the substantial inflows worth ₹58,930 crore recorded over the previous two months. The strong FPI outflows in August coincides with a noticeable drop in the Indian equity markets.
16)India bought USD 2.8 billion worth of crude oil in July from Russia and is the second largest importer, while China remains the largest importer of Russian oil, newswire PTI reported on Friday. India is the world’s third-largest oil-consuming and importing nation.
17)Foreign portfolio investor (FPI) ownership continued its decline, falling to 18.8%—its lowest level in nearly 12 years. Compared to the March quarter, FPI ownership dropped by 30 basis points (bps) on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, bringing the total value to USD 843 billion.
WORLD
1)OPEC cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024 citing softer expectations for China, a reduction that highlights the dilemma faced by the wider OPEC+ group in raising production from October. This is the first cut in OPEC’s 2024 forecast since it was made in July 2023 and comes after mounting signs that demand in China has lagged expectations due to slumping diesel consumption and as a crisis in the property sector hampers the economy.
2)The annual inflation rate in the US slowed for a fourth consecutive month to 2.9% in July 2024, the lowest since March 2021, compared to 3% in June and below forecasts of 3%. Meanwhile, annual core inflation also slowed for a fourth consecutive month to 3.2%, the lowest reading since April 2021, compared to 3.3% in June, and in line with expectations. The monthly core inflation rate also edged up to 0.2% from 0.1% as expected
3)Producer prices in the United States increased 2.2% year-on-year in July 2024, easing from an upwardly revised 2.7% gain in June and below market expectations of 2.3%. while core PPI decreased to 2.4% from 3%
4)US New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased to 2,069 in the week ending August 10, up from 1,937 the week before, the Labor Department said. U.S. unemployment claims dropped to 227,000 last week, down 7,000 claims from 234,000 the week prior on a seasonally adjusted basis.
5)The U.S. government deficit surged to $1.5 trillion in the first 10 months of FY 2024, as reported by the Treasury Department. In July alone, deficit spending soared to $244 billion. Over this period, both total outlays and receipts were $5.6 trillion. Social Security was the largest expenditure, amounting to $1.2 trillion, followed by net interest payments, which surpassed spending on health, Medicare, and national defense. Government spending continues to remain at crisis levels.
6)The UK economy grew as expected in the second quarter of the year, National Statistics (ONS) showed Thursday (15/8/24). The country’s GDP grew by 0.6% QoQ in Q2, compared to 0.7% growth in the previous reading. The market consensus was at 0.6%. Furthermore, UK GDP expanded at an annual pace of 0.9% YoY in Q2 from a 0.3% expansion in Q1, matching the estimation of 0.9% growth.
7)UK CPI inflation edged up to 2.2% in July, from 2% in June – but that was always expected, as the drag from energy prices eased. In addition, the headline rate came in below both the consensus, 2.3%, and the Bank of England’s forecast, 2.4%. Core inflation also fell to 3.3%, from 3.5%, consensus, 3.4%.
8)UK Unemployment was at 4.2% in the three months to the end of June, down from 4.4% over the previous quarter. Meanwhile, wage growth continued to slow, rising at an annual rate of 5.4% – the weakest for around two years, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested.
9)Industrial Production in the Euro Area decreased 3.90 percent in June of 2024 over the same month in the previous year. Industrial Production in Euro Area averaged 0.90 percent from 1991 until 2024, reaching an all time high of 41.40 percent in April of 2021 and a record low of -28.40 percent in April of 2020.
10)The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) board members decided to cut its Official Cash Rate (OCR) steady by 25 basis points (bps) from 5.50% to 5.25%. The market participants expected a rates on-hold decision. This is the first time the central bank has cut the official cash rate since March 2020.
11)Japan’s economy expanded at an annualized 3.1 percent in the April-June quarter of 2024, the government said in a report on Thursday. This marked a rebound from the annualized real 2.3-percent contraction in the January-March period.
12)Japan’s Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 3.0% year-on-year in July, slightly up from the previous reading of 2.9%, matching market expectations. On a monthly basis, the PPI rose by 0.3% in July, compared to 0.2% in the previous month.
13)China’s retail sales increased by 2.7% year-on-year in July, surpassing market expectations of 2.6% and rebounding from June’s 17-month low of 2.0%.
14)China’s industrial production grew by 5.1%, slightly below the expected 5.2% and down from the 5.3% growth recorded in the previous month
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