South Asia

The oil prices are soaring, while the share market is tumbling on the fear that the escalating U.S./Israeli war against Iran will cut energy'supplies and hamstring industry?all over the world. The following?are?actions?that governments are taking, or plan to take?to reduce the impact of war on their economies. SOUTH KOREAN PLANS FUEL CAPITAL South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced?on?Monday that the authorities will cap domestic fuel prices?for?the first?time in almost 30 years. He said that the country would also "look for energy sources beyond those shipped through the Strait of Hormuz" and a 100 trillion won (67 billion dollars) programme...

Pakistan raised prices for petrol and diesel by?about 20% on Friday, citing a rise in oil prices due to the conflict in Iran. In a video message broadcast on television, Ali Pervaiz Malik, the Petroleum Minister announced an increase of 55 rupees ($0.20 per liter) for diesel and petrol to 321.17 rupiahs. The minister stated that the sharp rise in global petroleum prices forced them to make this decision. This decision will likely lead to higher inflation in Pakistan and affect the country's poor population. Fuel stations in major cities such as Lahore and Karachi were crowded with people before...

Indian shares fell Friday, with losses mainly in financial stocks. Investors remained cautious amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict against Iran that has pushed up oil prices and weakened global risk appetite. As of 10:05 am IST, the BSE Sensex fell 0.61% and was down to 79530.73. The Nifty 50 was also down by 0.59%. The conflict has raised fears that a wider energy supply shock could further increase crude prices, revive inflation pressures and cloud the global economic outlook. The dollar strengthened as the conflict continued to show no signs of abating. Brent crude rose 5% on Thursday to a 20...

Analysts say that the Middle East conflict and higher oil prices threaten to shift emerging markets towards a more "hawkish" policy. In the next two weeks, more than a dozen emerging market central banks will be meeting to discuss their monetary policies. Goldman Sachs analysts noted that "markets that have been under the most pressure are those that were owned by investors anticipating rate?cuts in CEEMEA, LatAm and Latin America) and that also tend to be highly sensitive to global supply side shocks." Global financial markets are gripped by fears of an oil price spike due to the U.S. -...

Indian shares rose in morning trading on Thursday. A rebound in Reliance, and a rally in global stocks helped the market. Risk appetite had improved after the war in the Middle East, which had dragged down shares for the remainder of the week. As of 10:02 a.m. IST, the Nifty 50 index was up 0.61% to 24,631.3, and the BSE Sensex gained 0.54%, reaching 79,530.98. Over the last three sessions, both benchmarks dropped by about 4%. Avinash Gorakshakar is the director of research for Profitmart Securities. He said that while the markets may have staged a partial rebound after the...

Indian shares will open lower on Tuesday, as escalating U.S. - Israel?clashes? with Iran lifted crude oil to a high of 19 months,?disrupted Middle East shipments? and stoked fear of a long-term conflict?,?intensifying the risk aversion. Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,442.5 points by 7:52 am IST. This indicates that the benchmark Nifty will open lower than Monday's closing price of 24,865.7. The domestic markets were closed for a holiday in the locality on Tuesday. Wall Street also closed lower over night on fears that a larger Mideast conflict could cause an energy shock, which would increase inflation and...

Donald Trump said he was'very disappointed'?with British Premier?Minister Keir Starmer because he refused to allow the U.S. use of the Diego Garcia Air Base to conduct strikes against Iran, according to an interview with the Daily Telegraph. The?U.S. was initially reportedly denied permission to conduct air strikes from its bases. Starmer said he would accept a request to use its bases for air strikes against Iranian targets. In an interview published Monday, Trump said that Starmer's change of heart took "too much time". He told The Telegraph that "that's probably never happened before" between our countries, and added: "It sounded...

On 'Monday, spot premiums for Middle East crude benchmarks Dubai, Murban and Oman rose to three-year-highs as a military conflict disrupted shipping across the world's largest oil-exporting area. U.S. and Israel strikes on Saturday killed Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, causing retaliatory actions by Iran. This has increased the risks for commercial shipping in the last 24 hours. Shipping data revealed that at least 150 vessels including oil tankers and LNG tanks had anchored in the Strait of Hormuz (and its surrounding waters) on Sunday. On Monday, the disruptions caused a 9% increase in global oil prices. Data from trade...

Fuel stations in Sri Lanka were crowded on Monday, as fears of oil shortages grew due to the conflict in Iran. The island nation is still recovering from its deep financial crisis. A nation of 22 million people is struggling to recover from a crisis caused by a record dollar shortfall in 2022. The IMF has provided a $2.9 billion credit programme. Sri Lanka was at the height of their problems when they faced a massive shortage of fuel for several months. This led to huge protests, and eventually the ousting of the former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa. As U.S.-Israeli?strikes against...

According to trade sources, and LSEG data, the prices of liquefied petrol gas and?naphtha jumped on Thursday in Asia after Saudi Aramco halted the exports from a major terminal. This disrupted supplies to the area, and India is likely to be the worst hit. On Wednesday, Saudi?Aramco announced that it had halted LPG deliveries this week at its eastern terminal in Juaymah. This terminal is one of the largest exporters of butane and propane. It suffered structural damage to its delivery system on February 23, which was a result of a component being damaged. Fuel from the terminal near Aramco’s...

Indian share benchmarks recovered from initial jitters to rise?by mid-day on Friday as heavyweight stocks clawed back some?of the previous session's loss. As of 12:11 p.m. IST, the Nifty '50?added 0.54%, to 25,592.6. The BSE Sensex rose 0.48%, to 82897.3. The indexes had dropped about 0.3% on the opening, adding to a drop of 1.5% in the previous session. This was their biggest single-day decline in over two weeks. 15 of 16 major sectors were higher. The small-caps, mid-caps, and large-caps all added 0.1% to 0.5% respectively. Naveen Vyas is the head of the?family office of Anand Rathi Global Finance....

According to industry sources, data from January shows that India's oil imports were the lowest since late 2022. Middle Eastern crude supplies rose to their highest level in the same time period. India, which is the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world, has increased its purchases of Russian oil discounted by Western nations following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Volumes have topped 2 million barrels a day in certain months. But Western sanctions on the war, and the pressure to sign a trade agreement with the United States have forced New Delhi to reduce its Russian...

India's Jindal Steel said on Friday that there could be some delays in steel shipments in the Middle East in the near term because of?the conflict? in the region. The Middle East is a small part of the country's export market, but the company remains committed to serving the region. Abhyuday Jindal is the managing director of Jindal Stainless. He said that given the escalating weather conditions, there could be a few?delays? in shipment arrivals. This may be due to the extended?transit times across certain international shipping and airspaces. He said that it would be premature to comment on any...

The demand for gold in India slowed this week due to volatile prices amid the escalating Middle East conflict. Premiums in China remained 'firm' on a rise in investment demand. The closure of airspace in the region has sharply reduced supply, resulting in a reduction of discounts across India. Retail buyers in India are having a hard time digesting the steep price increase. Gold is now unaffordable at these prices, said Varghese Aukka, managing Director of Jos Alukkas in Thrissur, Kerala. On Friday, the price of gold in India was around 160,000 rupees per 10 grams, up from 169,880 earlier...

Three'sources' familiar with the matter said that Aditya Birla Global Trading, an Indian commodities trading company, is resuming its iron ore operations as other traders leave the market because of record low volatility. The Singapore-headquartered company, part of India's conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, which also owns aluminium producer Hindalco, trades ?agriculture, energy and metals but not iron ore, according to ?its website. According to two sources, the company has suspended its iron-ore business and will return to the Chinese market in order to diversify their portfolio and reduce the risk. All sources were speaking under condition of anonymity, as they...

Michael Flacks, the CEO of Flacks Group, said that if current attempts to sell Thyssenkrupp's steel division fail, they would be "ready" to bid for it. Thyssenkrupp and Jindal Steel International have been in discussions since the autumn about a possible sale for Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe. However, these discussions are yet to produce a formal bid. Flacks Group was selected by Italy in 'December' to conduct exclusive negotiations on the sale Acciaierie d'Italia, a bailed out steel company. Flacks stated that "our main interest in Italy is now, but we're interested in major companies and, if talks about an acquisition...

Due to widespread flight cancellations and airspace closures, the Middle East conflict has affected India's exports of gems and jewellery, as well imports of rough diamonds from United Arab Emirates. Dubai, which is a major "global hub" for polished and rough diamonds, and bullion has suspended many cargo and passenger flights. This has affected trade flows, and the shipments of essential raw materials and exports, according to industry officials. Vipul Shah is the managing director of Asian Star, one of the leading diamond exporters. Nearly a quarter of India’s annual gems, jewellery and watches exports totaling around $30 billion come...

In an alarming week dominated by a?Middle East conflict, the gold market made a bizarre move. Investors did not rush to buy gold but instead rushed for dollars, selling anything that had a speculative edge before the attacks last weekend. After the attacks on Iran Saturday, the initial demand for precious metals waned rapidly. On Tuesday there was a dramatic reversal with silver and gold both dropping by as much as 10 percent. One of the main reasons for the gold price's decline was the return of the dollar’s "safety" bid, which had seen the greenback rise this week despite...

Two people who are familiar with the discussions say that Japan and India are in talks to explore rare earth deposits together in Rajasthan's arid state. Tokyo is looking to reduce its reliance on China as a source of magnet manufacturing supplies. India's Mines minister G. Kishan Reddy announced last month that three hard rock deposits of rare earth oxides containing 1,29 million metric tonnes had been identified in Rajasthan state and Gujarat in western India. Sources directly involved in decision-making said that Tokyo expressed interest in the Rajasthan deposits, and planned to send experts there. The sources declined to...

India and Canada aim to conclude a free-trade pact before the end of the year, said Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday, during his 'first visit to New Delhi. The two countries are trying to overcome years of diplomatic friction in order to restore economic ties. Narendra Modi, Indian PM, said during a joint appearance with Carney that he and Ottawa hoped to increase their bilateral trade from $9 billion to $50 billion between 2030. The Indian Foreign Ministry added that the two sides had?agreed on the terms of reference for a comprehensive economic relationship. Both sides confirmed that they...

The Indian economy grew by 7.8% from October to December compared with the same period one year ago, following an 8.4% increase in the previous quarter. On Friday, it released a revised series national output data. National Statistics Office stated that the government expects South Asia's economy to grow by 7.6% for the entire fiscal year ending March. The National Statistics Office had previously forecast a 7.4% growth under the old data series. COMMENTARY: MADHAVI ARORA CHIEF ECONOMIST, EMKAY GLOBAL FINANCIAL MUMBAI : "The revised series of GDP, which features improved sectoral representation and reduced 'deflator related?distortions', as well as...

As prices rebounded, India's gold?discounts widened the most in 10 months. Meanwhile, China's demand increased as its safe-haven appeal was reflected in the rising premiums of the bullion after the markets returned from Lunar New Year. Indian bullion dealers offer a discount This week, you can save up to $65 on official domestic gold prices - including 6% import duties and 3% sales taxes. Last week, the discount was up to $18. Retail buyers are not ready to purchase at these prices. "For many of them, current prices are just too high to afford," said Ashok JAIN,?proprietor at Mumbai-based wholesaler...

The gold discounts in India reached their largest?in ten months, as a rise in prices?curbed the demand. Meanwhile in China the demand increased as the safe-haven appeal of bullion was reflected in the rising premiums following the return from the Lunar?New?Year holiday. Indian bullion dealers offer a discount This week, you can save up to $65 on official gold prices - including 6% import duties and 3% sales taxes. Last week's savings of up $18 per ounce were included. Retail buyers are simply not ready to purchase at these prices. "For many of them, current prices are just too high...

Vedanta, an Indian company, is planning to raise 30 billion rupees (about $329.89 million) by selling shorter-duration debt before the end of March, its second bond issue in the current fiscal. Sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media said that the metals-to oil conglomerate would likely sell bonds for two years or three years, or a combination of the two. One source said that the company had already begun talks with some investors, such as mutual funds. After'receiving board approval today', things would'speed up, and they would ideally aim to complete this round...