South Asia

Oil prices fell on Monday as worries about a global glut grew, while tensions between the U.S. and China over trade added to fears of an economic slowdown. Brent crude futures dropped 53 cents or 0.86% to $60.76 a barrel as of 0610 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate futures also fell 55 cents or 0.96% to $56.99 erasing Friday's gains. The International Energy Agency has forecast a growing glut of supply in 2026, which is partly responsible for the declines. Toshitaka Takawa, an economist at Fujitomi Securities, said that fears of a slowdown in the economy due to increased U.S....

Investor sentiment is expected to be boosted by better-than-expected earnings of top lenders, as well as positive global signals on the easing of China-U.S. Trade tensions. Gift Nifty futures traded at 25,980.5 as of 7:56 am IST. This indicates that the benchmark Nifty will open above its one-year close of 25,709.85. HDFC Bank, India's largest private sector lender, and ICICI Bank, India's second-largest private sector lender by assets, reported on Saturday that they had achieved higher profits than expected for the third quarter. Reliance Industries, on the other hand, missed its quarterly profit forecasts due to weakness in its oil-to-chemicals...

Reliance Industries, owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Amani, posted a 9.7% increase in its quarterly profit on Thursday, largely due to a strong performance in the company's core energy business. The steady growth of digital services was also credited. The quarter ended 30 September saw a profit of 181.65 billion rupies ($2.06 billion), compared to 165.63 rupies a year earlier. Reliance's earnings are boosted by higher crude prices, a robust fuel market and a rise in margins for its oil-to chemicals business. Ambani is also accelerating his strategic shift to consumer and digital ventures. Mukesh Amani said that the oil...

Egypt's Foreign Minister said that the Palestinian issue was crucial to progressing in the U.S.-funded transport project connecting India to Europe by sea and rail via the Middle East. The India-Middle East Economic Corridor was announced in September 2023 on the sidelines of a meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 leading economies. It was seen as a U.S. rival to China's Belt and Road initiative on global infrastructure. A month after the announcement of the decision, war broke out in response to the attack by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023. "We must remember...

India's equity benchmarks reversed their early losses on Friday. The Nifty 50 reached a new high of one year, with gains from Reliance Industries before its results, outweighing losses by Infosys, and Wipro. Both companies fell due to margin concerns, despite strong earnings. As of 10:36 am IST, the Nifty 50 index rose by 0.42%, to 25,693.3. This is its highest level since October 1, 2024. The BSE Sensex also increased by 0.50%, to 83887.58. Both indexes dropped about 0.2% when they opened. The benchmarks reached a three-month high on Thursday and are now less than 3% off their record...

Three merchant bankers familiar with the matter on Friday said that a decline in corporate bond rates in secondary market following a dovish policy encouraged three state-run companies to raise approximately 77.50 trillion rupees ($880.5 millions) through bonds sales. Hindustan Petroleum, a state-run company, plans to raise 50 billion rupees. Bharat Petroleum plans to raise 20 billion rupees. The bankers said that both oil marketing companies will be looking to issue bonds with a maturity of five years or less in the next few days. North Eastern Electric Power Corp. (NEEPCO), a subsidiary wholly owned by NTPC, would like to...

Sources with knowledge of the issue said that India intends to reduce imports of liquefied gas from the Middle East, as its state refiners seek to increase purchases from the U.S. This will help New Delhi in its efforts to secure a wider trade agreement with Washington. Sources who spoke under condition of anonymity said that the state refiners had already informed their traditional LPG suppliers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates about the expected reduction in LPG sales. It is not clear how much LPG India will reduce from the Middle East, but a report in July...

Three sources with knowledge of the situation said that some Indian refiners were preparing to reduce their Russian oil imports. The U.S. was pressuring New Delhi, to stop purchasing Russian crude in order to end the conflict in Ukraine. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra modi assured him that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia - its main source of oil imports. India's main goal, it said on Thursday, was to secure energy supply and maintain stable prices. In a volatile energy market, it has always been our priority to protect the Indian...

Google announced on Tuesday that it will invest $15 billion in data centres for an artificial-intelligence hub in India’s Andhra Pradesh over the next five year period. This is one of the largest investments the company has ever made in the country. Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, said that the hub is the largest AI hub outside the U.S. Alphabet Inc's campus of a 1-gigawatt-power data centre will be located in Visakhapatnam, a port city. The investment was initially estimated at $10 billion by officials from the state in southern India. This move coincides with a fiercer competition among...

Since late August, Nayara Energy refinery in western India has been moving fuel by rail to inland depots with two or three 50-tanker trains per day. This is more than twice the amount of diesel and petrol it used to transport previously. The European Union imposed crippling sanctions on the Russian-owned refinery on July 18 that shut it out of many markets. It forced the refinery to find new customers and divert more fuel into the domestic market. Sources from the Indian government and the company claim that the ongoing crisis at Nayara has forced the Indian government to provide...

Crude oil prices have been driven primarily by the unwinding OPEC+ production cut, China storage flows, and geopolitical tensions this year. This is likely to continue for the foreseeable. It is important to understand the factors that influence the market. It is impossible to predict with accuracy the future of these factors. Forecasting the market is a difficult task for the crude oil industry because all three factors are unpredictable and can change rapidly. The Energy Markets Forum, held in Fujairah (the hub for oil storage and shipping in the United Arab Emirates) this week, was a place where participants...

The Nigerian oil workers' union ordered its members on Monday to stop gas supplies to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. This escalated a labour dispute that had been sparked by the dismissal hundreds of Nigerian workers. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PENGASSAN), has directed all its branches in major oil companies to stop crude and natural gas deliveries at the refinery immediately. According to a letter from September 26, the union accused Dangote of "misinformation" and "propaganda" rather than addressing the alleged wrong disengagement of unionised workers. "The crude oil supply valves should be closed." In...

JSW Steel, India's largest steelmaker, reported a four-fold increase in its second-quarter profits on Friday. A surge in sales volumes outweighed the impact of lower price. Mumbai-based company’s net profit for the third quarter ended 30 September was 16.23 billion rupees, or about $185 million. This is higher than the profit of 4.39 billion rupees from a year earlier. The company announces its first quarterly results, which show that steel prices have dropped despite the Indian Government's tariffs on certain steel products. Sajjan Jindal's company posted a 20% increase in sales for the quarter. Capacity utilization in India, their key...

The physical gold market in Asia was very strong during this week. Prices broke multiple records and premiums in India reached their highest levels in more than a decade, ahead of the major festivals in this month. Gold prices in the spot market surpassed $4300 an ounce on Thursday for the first. They have gained 7.6% over this past week, amid renewed U.S. China trade tensions, and anticipation of a U.S. interest rate cut. This week, the domestic gold price in India reached a new record of 131 699 rupees for 10 grams. Indian dealers quoted premiums Up to $25...

HSBC raised its forecast for the average price of gold in 2025 to $3,355 from $3,215 because of safe-haven demand fueled by geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. In a note from October 15, the bank stated that "sentiment is bullish" as it expects rallies to continue into 2026, aided both by buying from the official sector and demand for gold among institutions as a diversifier. HSBC has also increased its forecast for the average 2026 gold price to $3.950 from $3.125. GOLD HITS A NEW RECORD HIGH HSBC reported that the demand for gold is increasing due to mounting fiscal...

India's steelmills only obtained about half their metallurgical coal needs from domestic suppliers during the first half 2025. This highlights shortages, and intensifies their calls for a easing of the import restrictions on this key steelmaking material. India produced 1.5 millions metric tons between January and June of metallurgical coal, but the demand was almost double at 3.09million tons, according to an insider and government data. India, which is the second largest crude steel producer in the world, implemented import restrictions on metallurgical coal in January, to stimulate the industry. In June, the country extended its curbs by setting country-specific...

India's silver prices are significantly higher than global averages, as India is the world's largest consumer of precious metals. This is due to the soaring demand for the metal from investors. Exchange-traded funds with physical backing have suspended new subscriptions after the premium jumped up to 10%. Jewellers struggle to meet the strong demand for silver ahead of Diwali - the Hindu festival when purchases of the metal are traditionally high. Why is there a shortage of silver? The global silver demand has been outpacing supply over the last four years. This is a result of the five-year surplus that...

Investors were concerned about the steep valuation of WeWork India Management and governance risks. The shares fell 3% in their debut trading on Friday. The shares opened just above the IPO price of 648 Rupees, and dropped as much as 5.2% at 614.25 Rupees. The company, which licensed its brand from the now bankrupt U.S. WeWork Global, raised $338.16 in its IPO, which was subscribed 1,15 times. Institutional bids were a major factor. Aishvarya Dadeech, Chief Investment Officer at Fident Asset Management, said: "The market wasn't very comfortable with the value of WeWork, and WeWork now faces the heat." Dadeech...

The Tata Group charity arm's trustee has called the decision to remove him from the board of its $180 billion business empire "unprecedented". He said it signals a new era in the largest boardroom rift that India Inc. has seen in years. A year after Ratan Tata's death, the discontent at Tata Trusts has fueled fears that a public spat in 2016 between Tata Sons and the charity could repeat itself, damaging the reputation of India’s most respected conglomerate. Tata Trusts owns a 66% stake in Tata Sons. Tata Sons oversees 30 companies in various industries, from consumer goods and...

The physical gold demand in India remained steady this week, despite the record-breaking price rise, as jewellers, investors, and collectors bought bullion in anticipation of important festivals that will take place later in this month. In China, however, buying was subdued due to higher exchange rates in the post-holiday market. Hong Kong residents sold everything, from gold bars and rings to cash out on the record price rise. Gold prices in the spot market rose to $4,000 an ounce on Wednesday for the first time, due to a combination of geopolitical, economic and rate-cutting expectations. This month, Indians will celebrate...

Gold prices dropped 2% on Friday, falling below $4,000/oz for the first session since the milestone was breached. The dollar rose and investors in gold made profits after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Silver also slipped from its record high $51.22 an ounce, under pressure from the same factors that impacted gold. Gold spot fell by nearly 2%, to $3.959.48 an ounce at 01:53 pm. ET (17:53 GMT). U.S. Gold futures for delivery in December fell 2.4%, to $3,972.6. Silver was unchanged at $48.93 an ounce. Dollar-priced gold is now more expensive to overseas buyers due to the...

Sources told Wednesday that two senior Indian ministers, in a rare intervention, have urged Tata Group’s charity arm to solve internal boardroom conflicts to ensure stability at its sprawling $180 billion business empire. A year after Ratan Tata's death, the discord in Tata Trusts has raised concerns that the bitter public spat of 2016 between Tata Sons and the charity could repeat itself, damaging the reputation of India’s most famous group. Tata Trusts holds a 66% stake of Tata Sons and has the power to make major strategic decisions. Tata Sons is responsible for 30 companies, ranging from autos to...

Titan Company in India reported a 18% increase in domestic sales for the second quarter, compared to the 25% that it recorded during the same time last year. This was due to the rising gold prices which hampered demand for high-carat jewellery. In its quarterly business update, the Bengaluru based company reported that the jewellery business, which accounts for close to 90% overall revenue, had grown 19% on an annual basis. Gold spot prices increased 16.4% during the third quarter, as investors sought out the safest commodity amid global economic instability. The company reported that higher gold prices led to...

Gold reached a new record on Tuesday, as there was no sign of an end to the impasse that led to the government shutdown between the two chambers of the U.S. Congress. Near-certainty bets about a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in this month also provided support. Gold spot was up 0.1% to $3,965.39 an ounce at 0308 GMT after reaching a session high of $3977.19 earlier. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery gained 0.3%, to $3988.10. Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA, said: "The (chances) of October and December cuts remain above 80%. This is actually supporting the...