Winning Bizness Desk
Mumbai.August Retail Inflation Climbs Northward to 8-Month High of 4.8 Per Cent
The country’s retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed up to an eight-month high of 4.82 per cent in August of this year, primarily propelled by higher food and fuel prices.
Urban inflation stood at 4.31 per cent while rural inflation was at 5.2 per cent.
As per the latest data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the higher prices of cereals, sugar, milk and other essential food items have contributed to the increase in household expenses, while elevated global crude oil prices have added to the fuel and transportation costs.
An important point to note here is that food inflation has emerged as a key propellant of increase in the headline number as it rose by 5.66 per cent due to erratic weather conditions and supply-side disruptions affecting the prices of several agricultural commodities.
An increase in fuel costs has also pushed up the risk of inflationary pressures spilling over into other sectors through higher transportation and input costs.
A key point to keep in mind here is that higher inflation was not just restricted to food. The hospitality sector too registered a significant rise.
Inflation in restaurants and accommodation services increased by 8.38 per cent in August while transport inflation stood at 4.60 per cent.
Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services clocked the highest inflation of 15.17 per cent.
Among states, Telangana has the highest retail inflation as it stood at 6.27 per cent followed by Tamil Nadu at 5.9 per cent.
Adani Group Renews Partnership With IOA
The blue-chip conglomerate, the Adani Group, has renewed its association with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as Principal Sponsor, extending its support for Team India.
Presently, Indian athletes are competing at the Asian Games being held in Aichi-Nagoya in Japan.
The partnership will cover the on-going Asian games in Aichi-Nagoya, which will continue till October 4 when it is scheduled to conclude. The partnership between the Adani Group and the IOA will, however, continue beyond the continental event.
Here, what needs highlighting is that this association was also in place during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games held earlier this year where India finished in the fourth spot.
An important point to be kept in mind here is that the renewed partnership comes at a significant time for Indian sport, with Ahmedabad set to host the Commonwealth Games four years hence in 2030. India also plans to bid for the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2036.
The Indian Olympic Association’s president and Olympian, Ms P T Usha, welcoming the continuation of the association between the two entities, pointed to the role of institutional support as Indian athletes prepare for major international competitions.
The Adani Group said its sports related initiatives span grassroots programmes, athlete support, community participation and professional sport. Its Garv Hai initiative has supported Indian athletes while its grassroots academies focus on developing talent across multiple sport.
India’s Forex Reserves Slide USD 4.92-bn to USD 780.78-bn
The country’s foreign exchange reserves slid by USD 4.92-billion to USD 780.78-billion in the week ended September 11, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs), the largest component of the reserves, declined by USD 2.37-billion during the week to USD 654.8-billion.
FCA holdings were up USD 95.886-billion from end-March and USD 63.692-billion from a year earlier.
Gold reserves, however, declined by USD 12.77-billion during the week to USD 111.22-billion.
The slide came a week after India’s foreign exchange reserves climbed northward by USD 44.90-billion to a record USD 785.71-billion in the week ended September 4, according to Reserve Bank data.
Gems, Jewellery Exports Up Over 3 pc in August
The country’s gross gems and jewellery exports climbed up 3.14 per cent on a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis to USD 2.30-billion in August of this year, according to provisional data from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
Exports stood at USD 2.23-billion in August last year. In rupee terms exports increased to Rs 21,945.87-crore from Rs 19,503.52-crore, a northward movement of 12.52 per cent.
For the April-to-August period, gross exports increased 2.58 per cent to USD 11.47-billion from USD 11.18-billion a year earlier.
Imports also climbed—gross gems and jewellery imports rose 14.13 per cent on a Year-on-Year (YOY) basis to USD 1.71-billion in August as compared to USD 1.50-billion a year earlier. For the April-August period, imports were up 0.85 per cent at USD 8.84-billion.
Within the export basket, studded gold jewellery registered one of the sharpest increases. Exports zoomed 51.22 per cent YoY to USD 642.86-million in August from USD 425.10-million a year earlier.
This pushed up total gold jewellery exports, including plain and studded jewellery, up 11.81 per cent to USD 999.83-million during the month.
However, plain gold jewellery exports fell 23.90 per cent to USD 356.97-million. The contrasting performance came amid higher gold prices.
The GJEPC said that gold bar prices averaged USD 4,433.89 per troy ounce during the April-to-August period, up 34.09 per cent in dollar terms and 48 per cent in Re terms from the year-ago period.
Lab-grown diamonds also continued to record growth. Exports of polished lab-grown diamonds moved northward 28.45 per cent YoY to USD 125.17-million in August.
For the April-to-August period, exports rose 11.75 per cent to USD 533.67-million, while export volumes rose 23.37 per cent to 80.24-lakh carats.
Natural and polished diamond exports registered a slide of 4.93 per cent in dollar terms to USD 924.51-million in August while imports of cut and polished diamonds increased sharply, rising 41.42 per cent YoY to USD 159.13-million in August.
For the April-to-August period, such imports were up 51.85 per cent at USD 671.87-million.
Rough diamond imports were broadly flat in dollar terms in August at USD 758.49-million, up 0.34 per cent YoY.
Other jewellery categories also registered mixed trends. Silver jewellery exports climbed up sharpy 35.57 per cent during the April-to-August period to USD 594.86-million, while platinum jewellery exports moved northward 19.67 per cent to USD 100.32-million.
Coloured gemstone exports, however, slid 1.91 per cent during the five-month period to USD 152.61-million, despite a 34.38 per cent increase in August alone.
