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Petrol, diesel prices static as global oil rates remain depressed

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Consumers continued to get relief from rising fuel prices on Monday with the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) keeping pump prices of petrol and diesel prices unchanged post revision of duties by the central and state governments on Diwali eve.

Accordingly, petrol and diesel prices remained static for 18th consecutive day under the daily price revision mechanism followed by the OMCs.

The pump price of petrol in Delhi, which fell to Rs 103.97 a litre at 6 a.m. on the Diwali day on November 4 from previous day’s level of Rs 110.04 a litre, remains at the same level. The diesel prices also remained unchanged at Rs 86.67 a litre.

In the financial capital Mumbai, petrol continues to be priced at Rs 109.98 a litre and diesel at Rs 94.14 a litre.

Prices also remained static in Kolkata where the price of petrol reduced by Rs 5.82 to Rs 104.67 per litre and that of diesel by Rs 11.77 to Rs 89.79 per litre in the first week of November.

Petrol prices in Chennai also remains at Rs 101.40 per litre and diesel Rs 91 .43 per litre.

Across the country as well, price of the fuel largely remained unchanged but the retail rates varied depending on the level of local taxes.

The global crude prices which has touched three year high level of over $85 a barrel on several occasions in past one month has softened now to below $ 79 barrel. Rise in US inventory has pushed down crude prices but OPEC+ decision on only gradual increase in production in December could raise crude prices further.

Before price cuts and pause, diesel prices have increased on 30 out of the last 59 days taking up its retail price by Rs 9.90 per litre in Delhi.

Petrol prices have also risen on 28 of the previous 55 days taking up its pump price by Rs 8.85 per litre.

Since, January 1, petrol and diesel prices have risen by more than Rs 26 a litre before the duty cuts.

The excise duty cut by the Centre on November 3 was first such exercise since the onset of Covid pandemic. In fact, the government had revised excise duty on petrol and diesel sharply in March and again in May last year to mobilise additional resources for Covid relief measures.

The excise duty was raised by Rs 13 and Rs 16 per litre on petrol and diesel between March 2020 and May 2020 and was standing high at Rs 31.8 on diesel and Rs 32.9 per litre on petrol before the Centre decided on duty cut.

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PM Modi meets Keir Starmer in Mumbai for strengthening India-UK ties

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Mumbai, Oct 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed UK Prime Minister Keri Starmer at Raj Bhavan and held a meeting as part of the process to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.

The Ministry of External Affairs shared photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“Together for stronger India-UK ties…,” posted Randhir Jaiswal, the MEA spokesperson, on X.

Earlier, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said his meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer here further deepened trade and economic partnership for mutual prosperity between the two nations.

Starmer arrived in India for a two-day visit on Wednesday, accompanied by the biggest-ever trade delegation from the country to India.

“Delighted to call on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Discussed avenues to further deepen India-UK trade and economic partnership for mutual prosperity,” Goyal posted on X social media platform.

Goyal earlier met Peter Kyle, the UK’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with a view to moving forward with the operationalisation of the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and doubling the bilateral trade by 2030.

“The meeting marked a significant step towards operationalising the India-UK CETA, with both Ministers agreeing to reposition the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) to oversee its implementation and delivery,” according to the Commerce Ministry statement.

Both sides underlined their commitment to ensuring swift, coordinated, and results-oriented implementation of the Agreement, aimed at realising its full potential for businesses and consumers in both countries. The ministers reaffirmed their shared ambition to double bilateral trade by 2030, leveraging the complementarities between the two economies in areas such as advanced manufacturing, digital trade, clean energy, and services.

Emphasising the transformative scope of CETA, they discussed ways to maximise its benefits through regulatory cooperation, addressing non-tariff barriers, and promoting supply chain integration. The highly productive Commerce Secretary and Director General-level meeting set the tone for the Ministerial meeting, which laid a strong foundation for a full day of engaging and forward-looking discussions.

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Sensex, Nifty open flat with positive bias amid global optimism

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Mumbai, Oct 9: Indian stock markets opened flat but with a slight positive tone on Thursday, taking cues from upbeat global trends.

At the opening bell, the Sensex was up 17 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 81,791, while the Nifty gained 17 points, or 0.07 per cent, to trade at 25,063.

“From a technical standpoint for Nifty, a sustained move above 25,150 could open the door for an upside toward 25,200–25,250,” analysts said.

“On the downside, immediate support is placed around 24,950–24,900, which may serve as potential accumulation zones for long positions,” they added.

“Overall, the index is expected to remain range-bound between 24,900 and 25,200 in the near term,” experts mentioned.

Broader markets also saw some strength, with the Nifty MidCap index rising 0.3 per cent and the Nifty SmallCap index advancing 0.21 per cent.

On the institutional front, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) extended their buying streak for the second consecutive session on October 8, purchasing equities worth Rs 81 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 329 crore on the same day.

Asian markets traded higher after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit record closing highs overnight on Wall Street.

Investor sentiment also improved after US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a US-brokered peace plan to pause fighting in Gaza and allow the release of hostages and prisoners.

According to experts, traders remained cautiously optimistic, tracking global cues and geopolitical developments.

“The results season starting today will be keenly watched by the market. IT stocks have witnessed some recovery from the bottom, but the headwinds for the segment continue to be strong,” market experts said.

“Banking stocks have largely remained range bound on muted earnings expectations. The NIM pressure and rising delinquencies in the unsecured loan segments will weigh on banking results generally. So, watch out for the out-performers in the segment,” they added.

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World Bank flags rising poverty levels in Pakistan

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New Delhi, Oct 8: The World Bank has expressed serious concern over Pakistan’s economy as the country has failed to reduce poverty despite massive loans injected by the IMF.

The current model of growth has failed to ameliorate the conditions of the poor, and the headcount ratio (HCR) has surged to its highest level of 25.3 per cent in the last eight years, which is a 7 per cent increase in HCR since 2023, the World Bank report states.

Instead of concentrating on rural development to reduce poverty, the Pakistan government has been focused more on increasing defence expenditure.

The World Bank report titled “Reclaiming Momentum Towards Prosperity: Pakistan’s Poverty, Equity and Resilience Assessment” released on September 23, mentions that even the country’s aspiring middle class (constituting 42.7 per cent of its population) is “struggling to achieve full economic security”.

Pakistan’s once-promising poverty reduction trajectory has come to a troubling halt, reversing years of hard-fought gains.

After dramatically reducing poverty from 64.3 per cent in 2001 to 21.9 per cent in 2018 — declining by 3 percentage points annually until 2015 before slowing to less than 1 percentage point per year — recent compounding shocks have pushed poverty rates back up to a projected 25.3 per cent by 2023-24, the report states.

The economic model that delivered early wins has reached its limits, with 14 per cent of the population in 2018 remaining vulnerable to falling back into poverty when faced with shocks.

Compounding crises — Covid-19, economic instability, devastating floods, and record-high inflation—have further exposed systemic weaknesses, leaving many in low-productivity activities and unable to cope with these challenges, the report points out.

Bold policy reforms are now essential to address structural imbalances, prevent sliding back into poverty during shocks, and tackle the persistent challenges in remote areas. In this context, this Poverty, Equity, and Resilience Assessment , the first since the early 2000s, looks at how poverty has evolved in Pakistan by combining traditional and non-traditional data, offering detailed analysis and strategic direction on the country’s efforts and challenges to reduce poverty and promote equity.

This comprehensive assessment aims to provide a roadmap for policymakers and stakeholders to address poverty and equity challenges in Pakistan effectively, the report added.

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