สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 11 กุมภาพันธ์ 2557

Gold price zooms by Rs 470 to Rs 30,670 in Delhi on brisk seasonal buying

Gold prices jumped by Rs 470 to Rs 30,670 per ten gram in Delhi today on brisk seasonal demand amid a firm global trend. Silver followed suit and climbed by Rs 405 to Rs 45,025 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coins makers. A similar trend was seen in Mumbai, as gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity traded at Rs 30,480 and Rs 30,330 per ten gram, while silver enquired at Rs 45,850 per kg on fresh buying activity. Trader said sentiment turned bullish as stockists and retailers indulged in brisk buying for the ongoing marriage season amid a firming global trend.

(Source: Financial Express)

Carrefour chief coming, multi-brand deal likely

The world's second-largest retail chain, Euro 76-billion Carrefour, seems close to firming plans for opening multi-brand, or supermarket, stores in India, as the group’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Georges Plassat is reaching India this Friday. This is his first official trip to India, even as the chain has been operating its cash-and-carry business in the country since 2010.  The chain is believed to be in talks with Indian retailers, including K Raheja-owned HyperCity, a subsidiary of Shoppers Stop, and Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Group. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma had indicated last month the second application for a multi-brand retail chain was expected soon, after the UK's Tesco put in the first. Tesco recently made its application for investing $110 million (Rs 700 crore) in opening multi-brand retail stores in India in a tie-up with Tata group's Trent. It's got the approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board. Currently, Carrefour operates five cash-and-carry stores in India. The last outlet opened in Bangalore in December, while the others are in Delhi, Agra, Meerut and Jaipur.

(Source: Business Standard)

Strike by PSB staff hits banks' operations

A strike by public sector bank employee unions on Monday hit bank operations across the country. The two-day strike, on Monday and Tuesday, was called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU).  About 100 million cheques, worth Rs 7,40,000 crore, couldn't be cleared on Monday, said C H Venkatachalam, general secretary, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA). At the clearing house in Chennai, about nine million cheques, worth about Rs 64,000 crore, could not be processed. Government transactions, foreign exchange transactions, money market operations, etc, were also hit. In many places, automated teller machines (ATMs) did not function or were short of funds. The striking unions' demands include an immediate wage revision for bank employees and officers. UFBU has said wage revision settlements in banks are due from November 2012. It has alleged Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has been delaying the matter for the past year.

(Source: Business Standard)

India January inflation seen easing on food, fuel prices but still elevated

During December, wholesale prices rose 6.16% annually while consumer prices climbed 9.87% in India. India's high inflation probably eased to a seven-month low last month as food and fuel prices showed signs of moderating, providing some respite to the central bank which has been hiking interest rates to curb soaring prices, Reuters polls showed on Tuesday. Ominously, though, factory activity likely contracted 1.0 percent in December due to sluggish mining activity and weak consumer demand. If confirmed, such a figure would signal the third straight month of contraction and the longest streak of shrinking manufacturing activity in Asia's third-largest economy since December 2008. Reuters surveys conducted from Feb 4-10 showed inflation, as measured by the wholesale price index, likely eased to 5.80 percent last month, while retail price growth slipped to 9.40 percent -- the slowest since May.

(Source: Financial Express)

OECD warns over economic growth in India even as China, developed world to thrive

Economic growth in India is expected to be "below trend" even as neighbouring China and most of the developed nations are expected to see better prospects, according to Paris-based think tank OECD. The conclusions are based on Composite Leading Indicator (CLI), which are designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity. "In the emerging economies, the CLIs point to growth around trend in China, Brazil and Russia, and to growth below trend in India," OECD said today. India's CLI slipped to 97 in December last year from 97.2 registered in November. The country's CLI has been falling since August 2013 when it stood at 97.7. It dropped to 97.5 in September and then to 97.4 in October.  The OECD assessment comes at a time when the Indian economy is expected to clock a growth of 4.9 per cent in the current financial year ending March 2014, higher than 4.5 per cent GDP expansion recorded in the year-ago period, as per advanced estimates released from the Central Statistics Office.

(Source: Financial Express)