Business

Turkiye's annual inflation jumped to a two-decade excessive of 69.97 per cent in April after final 12 months' lira crash, Reuters reports.

According to the report, the surge in costs has badly strained households, just over 12 months before presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in 2023.

The hit to trade puts further pressure on Turkiye's economy after a currency crisis in December.

Falling export income adds to the Turkish current account deficit, which is swelling following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

04 May 2022; MEMO: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday the problem of global food security could not be solved without restoring Ukrainian agricultural production and Russian food and fertilizer output to the world market, reports Reuters.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February has added to volatility in financial markets, sending commodity prices higher and affecting logistics, potentially derailing the economic recovery from COVID-19 in many countries including Nigeria.

04 May 2022; MEMO: OPEC+ is set to agree on another small increase in production targets for June, delegates from the group say, as expectations that sanctions will crimp Russian output further counter demand growth concerns from Chinese lockdowns, reports Reuters.

OPEC+ ministers are set to meet on Thursday and are expected to agree to raise production targets by 432,000 barrels per day (bpd) for June, four OPEC+ delegates told Reuters.

Mumbai, May 4 (PTI) Equity markets fell sharply in late afternoon trade on Wednesday, with the Sensex and Nifty diving over 2 per cent each after the RBI in a surprise move hiked the benchmark lending rate to 4.40 per cent to contain inflation.

The 30-share BSE benchmark tumbled 1,306.96 points or 2.29 per cent to settle at 55,669.03. During the day, it plummeted 1,474.39 points or 2.58 per cent to 55,501.60.

The NSE Nifty tanked 391.50 points or 2.29 per cent to finish at 16,677.60.

Mumbai, May 4 (PTI) The Reserve Bank on Wednesday announced a hike in cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 4.5 per cent, effective May 21, which will take out Rs 87,000 crore liquidity from the system.

The decision was announced by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das after an off-cycle meeting of the rate-setting panel -- Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

CRR is a percentage of a bank's total deposits that it needs to maintain as liquid cash.

The MPC also decided to raise the repo rate or the short-term lending rate by 40 basis points to 4.4 per cent.

Mumbai, May 4 (PTI) The RBI on Wednesday cautioned that while the Indian economy appears capable of weathering the deterioration in geopolitical conditions amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, it faces headwinds from global spillovers from geopolitical tensions, elevated commodity prices and moderating external demand.

The RBI, however, did not tinker with the GDP growth projection made in April. It had slashed the GDP growth projection for the fiscal 2022-23 to 7.2 per cent from its earlier forecast of 7.8 per cent.

Mumbai, May 4 (PTI) The adverse effects of the unprecedented high global food prices due to the ongoing geopolitical situation is reflecting in the domestic market as well, and going forward inflationary pressures are likely to continue, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday.

In an off-cycle Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting during May 2-4, the Reserve Bank on Wednesday announced a hike in the key repo rate -- at which it lends short term money to banks -- by 0.40 per cent to 4.40 per cent with immediate effect.

03 May 2022; MEMO: Turkish and Armenian envoys for the normalisation of ties between the two countries reaffirmed their goal of "achieving full normalisation," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, reports Anadolu Agency.

"The special representatives reaffirmed the declared goal of achieving full normalisation between their respective countries through this process," the ministry said in a statement following the third meeting of Turkish and Armenian envoys in the Austrian capital Vienna.

New Delhi, May 3 (PTI) Exports rose by 24.22 per cent to USD 38.19 billion in April on account of healthy performance by sectors like petroleum products, electronic goods and chemicals, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday.

Imports during the month under review grew 26.55 per cent to USD 58.26 billion. The trade deficit in April 2022 widened to USD 20.07 billion as against USD 15.29 billion in the year-ago period, it said.

02 May 2022; MEMO: Western officials have largely lost hope the Iran nuclear deal can be resurrected, sources familiar with the matter said, forcing them to weigh how to limit Iran's atomic program even as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has divided the big powers, reports Reuters.

While they have not completely given up on the pact, under which Iran restrained its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions, there is a growing belief it may be beyond salvation.