South Asia

Afghanistan's acting Commerce Minister said that the Taliban administration has advanced discussions with Russia to allow banks from both sanction-hit economies, Russia and Afghanistan, to settle trade transactions in local currency worth hundreds of millions in dollars. Haji Nooruddin, Azizi's minister, said on Thursday that the Afghan government had made similar offers to China. He said that discussions had taken place with the Chinese Embassy in Kabul. Azizi stated that technical teams in both countries were working on the proposal with Russia. As Moscow looks to use national currencies as a way to move away from the dollar, and Afghanistan...

India's infrastructure production grew by 0.5% in April, the slowest rate in eight months. The decline in crude oil prices and refinery products was to blame, according to government data released on Tuesday. The index which tracks eight sectors, and accounts for 40% of industrial production in the country, increased at a revised rate of 4.6% in march, compared with the initial estimate of just 3.8%. In April, crude oil production fell 2.8% compared to a drop of 1.9% in March. Natural gas production also declined by 0.4% compared to a drop of 12.7% in March. Cement production increased 6.7%...

As they struggle with thin margins and a global oversupply of petrochemicals, executives from several Asian companies said that they plan to reconfigure crackers in order to process more Ethane. This will reduce costs and allow them to take advantage of the rising U.S. supply. SP Chemicals, a Chinese company, and YNCC in South Korea are two of the largest cracker operators. Mitsui Chemicals in Japan is researching the use of ethanol to fuel existing crackers. This change will enable operators to maintain flexibility in their feedstocks, with U.S. exports of ethane expected to increase by about 7% by 2025....

Gas distributor GAIL India posted a larger-than-expected drop in quarterly profits on Tuesday. This was mainly due to lower gas marketing margins, and higher costs. GAIL, India’s largest natural gas distributor based on market share, reported a net profit after taxes of 20.49 billion Rupees ($240.1 millions) for the three-month period ended March 31, a decline of 5.9%. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, analysts had predicted that profit would fall on average 3.1%, to 21.13 billion Rupees. Gas marketing, which accounts for the majority of revenue generated by the company through wholesale trading and distribution of natural...

After a social media backlash, the film studio of Asia's richest person Mukesh Ambani retracted its trademark application for the codename used to describe India's military strike against Pakistan. Reliance, the conglomerate owned by billionaire Ambani, said in a statement that the trademark application had been filed accidentally and without authorization by a junior employee at Jio Studios. It added that "Operation Sindoor," as a symbol of Indian courage, was now "part of the national consciousness." India claimed it had struck "terrorists infrastructure" in Pakistani Kashmir and Pakistan earlier this week, after militants in Indian Kashmir killed 26 men -...

Coal India, the company that produces more than 75% of India's coal, announced a decline in revenue for the fourth quarter on Wednesday. The drop was attributed to a lower demand for electricity. The company, which produces mainly thermal coal for industries and power generation, reported a 1% decline in revenue from operations to 378.25 trillion rupees (4.47 billion dollars) during the quarter ending March 31. India's coal consumption remained low from January to March due to a slowdown of manufacturing, which led to a lower demand for electricity. The coal production of the company fell by 2% during the...

Analysts and trade sources said that India's diesel imports in April likely reached their lowest level for over a decade as Reliance, a major exporter, cut refinery output to maintain equipment at a time of robust domestic demand. India, Asia's third largest diesel exporter, exported approximately 1.15 million metric tonnes (9.69 millions barrels) of this industrial and transportation fuel during April, according to a combination of data from LSEG Kpler Vortexa, and two other trade sources. According to official data, this would be the lowest level since February 2012. It is also a substantial drop from the nearly 1-1/2-year high...

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Monday that California drivers pay more at the pump due to issues with supply, environmental compliance, fuel requirements and high state taxes. The latest data shows that in March, environmental programs like Cap-and-Trade, Low Carbon Fuel Standard and Cap-and-Trade added $0.54 per gallon to the cost of gasoline. EIA reported that California consumers pay $0.90 per gallon, or the highest amount in the nation, in taxes and fees, as of March. Why it's important California is the biggest gasoline market in the United States, but many fuelmakers have closed less profitable stations citing...

The OPEC+ group's increased supply is not based on the reasons they claim. On May 3, the eight OPEC+ member countries who have agreed to voluntary production cuts decided to relax their curbs for June. This time, they added back 411,000 barrels a day (bpd). Calculations show that the June increase will bring the combined April, May, and June increases to 960,000 bpd. This represents a 44% reduction of the 2.2million bpd decrease. In a statement posted on the website of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the eight stated that the decision to increase output was made due...

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. The budget proposal for fiscal 2026, which is set to be released on Friday, will propose a cut of over $160 billion from programs in the areas of renewable energy, education and foreign aid. Kohl's fired CEO Ashley Buchanan after learning that he had directed the retailer to make a "highly abnormal" business deal with a woman with whom he was romantically involved. A spokesperson for the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that China would consider trade talks...

Adani Enterprises in India, the flagship of the Adani Group reported on Thursday a decline in its fourth-quarter profits, hurt by a weaker performance from its coal trading division. The company's profit before tax and exceptional items fell to 13,13 billion rupees (about $155.2 million) from 13,22 billion rupees in the previous quarter. The net profit for the company, however, grew more than eight times to 38.45 billion rupies, thanks to a 39.46 billion rupiah gain from a sale of a portion of its consumer products venture with Singapore-based Wilmar. Adani Group, the flagship company of the ports-to-power Adani Group,...

Indian Oil Corp., the top refiner in the country, announced a 50% increase in its fourth-quarter profits on Wednesday. The company attributed the jump to inventory increases, and is looking to purchase more crude oil from the spot market. Standalone net profits soared to 72.65 billion Indian Rupees ($858.57 millions), up from 48.38 billion rupees the year before. Anuj Jain, Director of Finance, said in a press release that the company had a gain in inventory in the fourth quarter, which helped to increase profits, as opposed to a loss in inventory a year ago. When oil prices increase, and...

India's highest court on Monday halted liquidation proceedings against Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BPSL), after rejecting JSW Steel's $2.3 Billion deal to purchase the firm. The Supreme Court ruled after JSW Steel and certain creditors of Bhushan Power and Steel informed the court that they would be filing a review against an order earlier in the month which had quashed the acquisition of Bhushan Power and Steel and which ordered the liquidation of Bhushan Power and Steel. JSW Steel shares reached a session high after the order, and last traded 2.2% higher. The National Company Law Tribunal, in New...

India's JSW Steel, the country's top steelmaker, reported a smaller-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter profit on Friday, hurt by weak steel prices. Its consolidated profit was 15.03 billion rupees (176 million dollars) for the three months ended March 31. This is below the average analyst estimate of 15.66 trillion rupees. Data compiled by LSEG. The O.P. The O.P. The results are a month after a temporary 12% duty was imposed on certain steel imports. This is known as a "safeguard duty" locally. It was imposed to protect local producers from the influx of cheap imports coming from China, Japan, and South...

The physical gold demand in India this week was subdued, as a rise in global prices, a weaker rupee and retail purchases were limited. Premiums in the top consumer China remained stable. This week, Indian dealers offered a discount Last week, the discount was up to $34, but this week it's up to $49 per ounce. Last week, prices were falling and buyers began to buy. Now that the prices have rebounded, buyers are stepping back from the market again", a jeweller in New Delhi said. On Friday, domestic gold prices traded at around 95,900 rupies per 10 grams after...

Ramco Cements reported on Thursday that it expects to see an improvement in cement prices in the key South India market. This comes after Ramco Cements reported a decline in profits for its fourth quarter, due in part to low prices and lower volume in a traditionally strong season. The adjusted net profit for the cement business fell by over 76%, to 384.3 millions rupees ($4.5million) in the third quarter ending March 31. The company recorded a gain of 108.3 millions rupees from the sale of excess lands and investments. The company said that "in southern region, average cement prices...

Tribhovandas Zaveri, an Indian jeweller, reported its first profit drop in ten months on Thursday. The surge in bullion prices has led to a higher demand for investment gold instead of jewellery. The fourth-quarter net profit of the company fell by 24.7%, to 94.9 millions rupees ($1.10million). The price of gold increased by almost 17% in the first quarter of the year, and 10 grams of 24-carat rose to more than 90,000 rupees (1,052.26 dollars) by the end March. According to a World Gold Council report, India, which is the second largest gold consumer in the world, saw 7% growth...

India's steel imports in April fell by 11.3% on an annual basis to 0.5 millions metric tons, following a drop in shipments to India from China and Japan. India, which is the second largest crude steel producer in the world, imposed in April a temporary tariff of 12% on certain steel imports. This was locally known as "a safeguard duty" to stop a rush of cheap shipments, primarily from China. The shipments of finished steel from China in April fell by 26.5% to 0.1 metric tons. The data revealed that imports from Japan fell to 85,600 tons, a 60% drop...

Hindalco Industries reported a fourth-quarter profit that was above analyst estimates on Tuesday. The surge in commodity price is largely responsible for this. The company's net profit for the three months ended March 31 rose to 52.83 trillion rupees (618.05 million dollars). According to LSEG data, analysts had predicted, on average 44.97 billion rupies. Aditya Birla Group's company has benefited from the higher prices of copper and aluminium. During the quarter, benchmark prices for aluminium and Copper rose by 17% and 10% respectively. Mining companies tend to see their margins and selling prices increase as commodity prices rise. Hindalco’s copper...

Gold prices fell more than 2% Friday, and are heading towards their worst six-month period in recent memory. An overall stronger dollar and an interim U.S. China trade agreement have weakened investor demand for this safe-haven. As of 1136 GMT, spot gold was down by 1.9% at $3,178.06 per ounce. Bullion is down more than 4% this week, and it's on track to have its worst performance weekly since November 2024. U.S. Gold Futures dropped 1.4% to $3.180.90. Nitesh Sha, commodities strategist for WisdomTree, said: "We have had a week of positive signals regarding trade negotiations, and we've seen the...

India's merchandise deficit in April was the largest in five months, according to data released by the government on Thursday. Imports of petroleum products increased, which limited the impact of a rise in exports to America. India's trade deficit in April was $26.42 billion, higher than the $20 million economists had predicted in a survey. It also increased from the $21.54 billion of the previous month. In April, exports totaled $38.49billion, while imports reached $64.91billion. This compares to $41.97billion of exports and 63.51billion of imports in march. India's oil imports increased to $20.72 Billion in April from $19 Billion in...

The gold price fell on Wednesday, as the de-escalation of U.S. China trade tensions dampened safe-haven demand. Meanwhile, markets waited for another set inflation data in order to gauge the Federal Reserve’s policy direction. As of 0231 GMT, spot gold was down 0.4% at $3,234.32. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.3% to $3237.00. Kyle Rodda, Capital.com financial analyst and expert on the gold market, said that positive developments in US trade policies are reducing the appeal of the metal in the short term. "I believe that if there is continued progress made in the trade negotiations and agreements between the US,...

The gold price rose on Tuesday, as bargain hunters sought to make up for a steep loss the day before. Inflation data from the U.S. that were lower than expected also helped. Gold spot rose by 0.2%, to $3,241.16 per ounce, as of 13:38 GMT (938 ET), after dropping as low as $3207.30 an ounce on Monday. U.S. Gold Futures rose 0.6% to $3,245.50. Bart Melek said that the news of a possible deal between the U.S.A. and China caused a large correction in the gold price on Monday. "However, tariffs on China are still 30% which is quite negative...

A document sent to the World Trade Organization reveals that India may impose import duties on certain products manufactured in the United States as a counter to Washington's tariffs against steel and aluminum products. The document of May 12 stated that "the proposed suspension of concessions, or other obligations, takes the form an increase in tariffs for selected products from the United States." The tariff rate was not specified. In March, the U.S. levied 25% on imports of steel and aluminum - an extension to tariffs first imposed by President Donald Trump in 2018. India, which is the second largest...