Gdp

NEW DELHI: Local rates of petrol and diesel are set to fall further, after declining about Rs 1.5 a litre in thirteen days, as crude oil slid 4% this week to about $62 a barrel on fears that China’s coronavirus outbreak may hit demand amid copious supplies. The virus, which has infected more than 800 people so far and killed 25, has spread to at least seven other countries. Markets fear the outbreak would hurt travel, oil demand and economic growth in China, the world’ fastest-growing oil consumer. Oil steadied on Friday, rising 0.5% to $62.35 a barrel, but was still down 4% for the week. A surprise 405,000-barrel decrease in US crude stockpiles helped push up price on Friday. Domestic rates of petrol and diesel are based on the 15-day moving average of the international rates of respective fuels – which helps spread spikes and falls over several days. In Delhi, petrol and diesel were retailed for RS 74.43 and Rs 67.61 a litre, respectively, on Friday. Since … [Read more...] about Fuel prices set to fall as virus scare may hit demand

China also now contributes more to global economic growth than it did 17 years ago, meaning any big domestic impact stemming from the virus will ripple through worldwide. World shares fell to their lowest in two weeks on Monday on virus concerns, with demand spiking for safe-haven assets such as Japanese yen and Treasury notes. … [Read more...] about Coronavirus outbreak in China showing impact on global economy, world share falls to its lowest

Last year PricewaterhouseCoopers chief economist Jeremy Thorpe released a paper on China Matters about what would happen to Australia if China’s economy experienced a “hard landing”, defined as a sudden decline in GDP growth of about 3 to 5 percentage points. … [Read more...] about Fake coronavirus warning sparks calls of racism from Queensland MP

Mumbai: India’s benchmark indices slumped by more than 1 per cent on Monday as markets tumbled across the world amid growing nervousness over the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China that appears to be intensifying. The local stock market fell as prices of crude oil — a key commodity import for India — fell by more than 3 per cent on fears that the spread of the virus will impact demand. The rising concerns saw the price of safe-haven assets such as gold rising. The Sensex slid 1.1 per cent to end at 41,155.12 points. The Nifty also lost 1.1 per cent to close at 12,119 points. Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India and Power Grid fell 2-4 per cent. The local fear index VIX climbed 10 per cent to end above the 17 level for the first time since October last year. All sector indices on the NSE ended down barring the Nifty Pharma index, which climbed 1.5 per cent. Japan's Nikkei dropped 2 per cent. The FTSE in London, the DAX in … [Read more...] about China virus takes toll across markets

By Vikram Kirloskar This Saturday finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her second Union Budget, barely seven months after her first one in July last year. In the interim period, she has been actively engaging with industry and other stakeholders and made several policy announcements towards reviving the economy. This is a good practice, as the government can respond to issues as they develop instead of being limited to making announcements once a year. Nevertheless, the Budget announcement is critical, most importantly due to the fiscal numbers that come with it. This year, it is widely believed that the fiscal deficit will exceed its target of 3.3% of GDP due to the shortfall in revenue collection. The question is, at what level should it be set for the coming fiscal year 2020-21? CII believes this is not the time for belt tightening or fiscal consolidation, in view of the economic slowdown which would get further reinforced if the government chooses to cut down its … [Read more...] about View: The Budget should keep up spending while directing it to productive areas