WPI inflation at 4.5-year high, grows 5.77% in June

/0 Comments/in , /by

India’s wholesale inflation grew 5.77 percent in June, a four-and-half year high, driven by some food items and fuel prices, latest price data released by the commerce and industry ministry showed.

A higher inflation in the month of June can also be attributed to an unfavourable base effect. WPI witnessed a growth of 4.43 percent in May and 0.90 percent in June 2017.

Wholesale inflation rate, measured by Wholesale Price Index (WPI), is a marker for price movements in bulk buys for traders and broadly mirrors trends in shop-end prices.

“The lagged transmission of higher crude oil prices, an uptick in cotton prices and electricity tariffs, the hardening of inflation for manufactured products as well as an unfavourable base effect, led to the sharp pickup in the WPI inflation to a 54 month high in June 2018,” Aditi Nayar, Principal Economist at ICRA said.

The data for the month of April has been revised to 3.62 percent from 3.18 percent earlier.

Primary articles, which accounts for more than a fifth of the entire wholesale price index witnessed a uptick to 5.3 percent in June from 3.16 percent in May owing to fuelled by higher prices of Cereals, wheat, vegetables, potatoes, non-food articles, fibers and minerals.

Food articles saw a slight increase, growing 1.8 percent in June from 1.6 percent a month ago. Vegetables prices saw a sharp jump, rising 8.12 percent in June as compared with a growth of 2.51 percent in May.

Continuing with the trend, potato price peaked, rising 99.02 percent in June from 81.93 percent in May.

However, prices of fruits underwent a sharp correction, rising 3.87 percent in June from 15.40 percent a month ago.

Prices of pulses have continued to slump for over a year now, with rate of decline relatively slowing at (-) 20.23 percent in June, as compared with de-growth of (-) 21.13 percent in May.

Fuel and power inflation, which has a weightage of 13.15 percent in WPI, grew at 16.18 percent in June from 11.22 percent in May.

Petrol prices are up 17.45 percent in June from 13.90 in May, while diesel prices grew 21.63 percent in June as compared to 17.34 percent in May.

“An unfavourable base effect as well as the revision in electricity tariffs, and prices of ATF, LPG, naphtha and furnace oil, contributed to the considerable rise in the inflation for fuel and power to 16.2% in June 2018 from 11.2% in May 2018,” Nayar said.

Last week, data released by the government showed that retail inflation grew 5 percent in June, a five-month high, from May’s 4.87 percent on the back of rising fuel prices.  Factory output witnessed a tepid growth of 3.2 percent in May as compared with 4.9 percent jump in April, owing to sluggish manufacturing output.

A higher inflation for the month of June keeps the chances alive of a further rate hike in the month August, according to economists. The RBI governor headed Monetary Policy Committee will be meeting later this month to review interest rate regime.

“The sharper than expected uptick in the WPI inflation in June 2018 reinforces our expectation of a likely repo rate hike at the next MPC meeting in August 2018,” Nayar said.

Source: MONEYCONTROL

India expected to be $10 trillion economy by 2030: Economic Affairs Secy

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Indian economy is at a “take off” stage and is expected to be the world’s third largest by 2030 with GDP worth USD 10 trillion, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said.

“Good days are ahead and lot of good work is happening in the economy. The economy is on a stage of take off where Indians can legitimately hold their heads high,” he said here.

In the first 40 years of independence, the country hardly grew at 3.5 per cent, and today 7-8 per cent is the norm, Garg said at a function to mark the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India.

“By 2030, we can legitimately expect to be a USD 10 trillion economy. That is the challenge. That is also the opportunity,” he said.

“Eight per cent growth is very much achievable… If we keep that… we can look forward to be an Indian economy of USD 10 trillion which would be the third largest economy in the world,” Garg said.

His comments come on the heels of latest World Bank data showing that India has emerged as the sixth largest economy globally, surpassing France, in 2017.

In 2017, it became the sixth largest economy with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 2.59 trillion, relegating France to the seventh position, according to the data.

“We expect the Indian economy to be a USD 1 trillion digital economy by 2022 and going forward… possibly by 2030, the digital economy would be half of the total economy,” Garg said.

India’s economy grew at a seven-quarter high of 7.7 per cent in the three months ended March, helped by higher government spending and investments.

Source: PTI

India overtakes France as 6th biggest economy in the world

/0 Comments/in , /by

The latest World Bank figures have some good news for India. A World Bank report says that Indian economy has now become world’s sixth-biggest pushing France to seventh place. The US leads the table as the biggest economy followed by China, Japan, Germany and Britain. The new calculations were arrived on the basis of Indian economy’s performance in 2017.

India’s gross domestic product (GDP) was valued at USD 2.597 trillion at the end of 2017 overtaking French economy, which was amounted at USD 2.582 trillion last year.

However, in terms of per capita GDP, India still lags far behind France, which is nearly 20 times bigger in comparison. This is because of the huge size of India’s population, which is estimated to be around 134 crore against only 6.7 crore of France.

According to the World Bank, Indian economy has benefitted from robust performances in manufacturing sector driven by increased consumer spending. The World Bank also noted that demonetisation in November 2016 and chaotic implementation of GST (goods and services tax) rollout in July last year were to be blamed for extended slowdown of Indian economy.

Overall, India has made rapid progress in economy doubling its GDP in less than past 10 years and emerged as the engine of economic growth in Asia at a time when Chinese economy has shown definite signs of lethargy.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted India to grow at 7.4 per cent in 2018 and 7.8 per cent in 2019. The IMF, on the other hand, predicted that world’s economy would grow at 3.9 per cent over the next year.

Source: INDIA TODAY

KATM weekly price indicators for bulk physical commodities

/0 Comments/in , /by

KATM Exclusive

KATM’s indicative price listed below for various bulk commodities listed on our platform during preceding week:

Iron Ore Pellets (64%Fe)
109 US$/MT FOB ECI
HMS (80:20) Scrap
350 US$/MT CFR ECI
Prime Hard Coking Coal (Low Vol.)
214 US$/MT CFR ECI
Thermal Coal (RB1 6000 NAR)
120 US$/MT CFR ECI
Thermal Coal (5500 NAR)
106 US$/MT CFR ECI
Thermal Coal (4800 NAR)
87 US$/MT CFR ECI
Limestone (40-80 mm)
21 US$/MT CFR ECI

 

Spot iron ore steadies during the week’s trade

/0 Comments/in , /by

KATM Exclusive

Iron ore prices in the spot seaborne market ended the sluggish week with marginal upward movement from the last week’s prices. Buying sentiments were subdued as the major buyers including Chinese steel mills shied away from sea-borne iron ore.

Onto the benchmark for seaborne spot iron ore prices, Platts assessed the 62% Fe IODEX & TSI Iron Ore Fines at $63.50/dmt CFR North China on Friday. Meanwhile, TSI 58% Fe Fines, 1.5% Al, CFR Qingdao port closed the week at $53.50/dmt.

Futures Market

Iron ore futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange eased Friday, with the most liquid September contract last trading at Yuan 463/dmt ($69.39/dmt), down Yuan 3/dmt day on day, settling at Yuan 464.5/ dmt, flat over the same period.

Steel rebar futures were mixed, with the most actively traded October contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange last traded at Yuan 3959/ mt ($593.31/mt), down Yuan 17/mt on day, and last settled at Yuan 3974/mt, up Yuan 37/mt over the same period.

Think-tanks call for states to adopt Clean Energy Standards

/0 Comments/in /by

Think-tanks call for states to adopt Clean Energy Standards

10th july 2018

US states could set far more ambitious decarbonisation targets by replacing Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) with Clean Energy Standards (CES) encompassing all clean energy sources including nuclear, according to a new joint report by the Breakthrough Institute and Third Way think-tanks.
Twenty-seven US states, plus the District of Columbia, currently have in place binding RPS, which are most commonly used to promote renewable electricity sources like solar, wind, hydropower, and geothermal, the report notes. These on average mandate a generation share of 26% renewables with an average target year of 2022. Collectively, this would result in at least 16% of total US electricity supply from carbon-free renewable resources in the coming years. Such policies are a “good step in the right direction”, but states could cut their emissions more affordably, rapidly and reliably if their policies extended to a wider set of carbon-free resources, the report says.
Including all zero-carbon resources in a portfolio standard could encourage a state to “stretch farther” and enable higher targets – within “striking distance” of the ultimate goal of full decarbonisation – the report finds.
Despite “aggressive policy support” from federal and state governments, the contribution of renewables to decarbonisation has been undercut by recent nuclear plant closures, the Breakthrough Institute said. “When nuclear plants retire, they have often been replaced by new fossil fuel infrastructure (mostly gas) that will last for decades. Clean Energy Standards prevent this backsliding by creating a policy incentive to keep nuclear plants open – and even if nuclear plants retire, utilities must replace nuclear entirely with clean generation,” it said.
“In the last few years we’ve seen more and more support for saving America’s existing nuclear plants. But much of the action has been in the form of one-off, plant-by-plant bailouts or proposals to subsidise coal along with nuclear at the federal level. Clean Energy Standards could ensure that economic support for nuclear derives from its climate benefits, not tenuous arguments about reliability or national security, and provide a coherent and holistic framework for doing so,” the Institute said.
“Because all clean sources count towards the [CES] mandate, innovative technologies like carbon capture, waste-to-energy, and advanced nuclear will receive support as well,” it added. “Long-term policies should recognise the long-term shifts in energy technology that are likely to occur in electricity decarbonisation. For example, in states with significant recent investment in gas generation, carbon capture could be the cheapest decarbonisation pathway over the course of the next few decades. Waste-to-energy, meanwhile, is net carbon negative when compared to uncontrolled landfills, and should be compensated for its climate benefits within a CES on a prorated basis.”
Several states have already taken legislative action to recognise nuclear energy for its environmental attributes and its contribution to fuel diversity. The states of New York and Illinois have launched zero-emissions credit programmes, while Connecticut has passed legislation enabling the Millstone nuclear power plant to enter into a competitive procurement process alongside other zero-carbon energy sources.
With most state RPS set to expire over the next three to five years, the report urges states to consider adopting a CES instead, which the Breakthrough Institute described as the simplest baseline policies for power-sector decarbonisation. “They will – and should – never be the only climate policies. But through their simplicity and inclusivity, they could be politically viable in more states, and they provide the maximum amount of flexibility for clean energy deployment and innovation over the long term,” it said.
The report, Clean Energy Standards: How more states can become climate leaders, is authored by Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jameson McBride, Jessica Lovering, Josh Freed and Ted Nordhaus, and was published on 27 June.
Source: WORLD NUCLEAR NEWS

India will get 75 per cent electricity from renewable energy in 2050: BNEF

/0 Comments/in /by

India will get 75 per cent electricity from renewable energy in 2050: BNEF

10th july 2018

India will generate 75 per cent of its overall electricity from renewable energy, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Of this, 34 per cent would come from solar energy and 32 per cent from wind energy.
Wind and solar energy are set to surge to almost 50 per cent of world generation by 2050 — on the back of the precipitous reduction of cost, and the advent of cheaper batteries that would enable electricity to be stored and discharged to meet shift in demand and supply, stated Bloomberg New Energy Outlook 2018 report, released by BNEF on Friday
“We project that cheap renewable energy and batteries would reshape the entire electricity system. Looking ahead, we see new power generation assets growing, the cost of wind energy to come down significantly and renewable to supply 62 per cent electricity in China and 75 per net in India by 2050. Asia Pacific is recording almost as much investment in power plants as the rest of the world combined with China seeing 49 per cent and India 29 per cent of the total regional investment, ” said Shantanu Jaiswal, head of India research, BNEF
He further added that the arrival of cheap battery storage will mean that it become increasingly possible to finesse the delivery of electricity from wind and solar, so that these technologies can help meet demand even when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. “The result will be renewables eating up more and more of the existing market for coal, gas and nuclear.”
The report projects $11.5 trillion being invested globally in new power generation capacity between 2018 and 2050, with $8.4 trillion of that going to wind, solar and a further $1.5 trillion to other zero-carbon technologies such as hydro and nuclear.
This investment would produce a 17-fold increase in solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity worldwide, and a six-fold increase in wind power capacity. The levelised cost of electricity from new PV plants was forecast to fall further 71 per cent by 2050, while that for onshore wind drops by a further 58 per cent. These two technologies have already seen levelised cost of electricity reductions of 77 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively, between 2009 and 2018.
Source: ET ENERGYWORLD

China to boost rail freight by 30% by 2020

/0 Comments/in /by

China to boost rail freight by 30% by 2020

10th july 2018

China will boost its rail freight capacity by 2020 and raise the volume of goods delivered by trains by as much as 30 percent, an environment ministry official said on Thursday, as the country grapples with rising vehicle pollution.
Ding Yan, vice-director of the Vehicle Emissions Control Center under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said trucks produce 13 times more pollution per unit of cargo than trains.
While China has been making efforts to discourage road freight, particularly in the heavily polluted Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, it still accounted for 76.8 percent of total cargo deliveries in 2017.
Though the government took action to restrict the transportation of coal by road, the share of rail in total freight volumes rose just 0.1 percentage point to 7.7 percent in 2017, Ding said in comments published by the environment ministry on Thursday.
To boost rail freight by 30 percent by the end of the decade, the government will charge higher fees and introduce more stringent monitoring procedures to try to discourage road deliveries, Ding said.
Source: REUTERS

Southern Railway records 48 % increase in freight loading

/0 Comments/in /by

Southern Railway records 48 % increase in freight loading

10th july 2018

Southern Railway has recorded a 16 per cent increase in ‘originating freight’ above the targeted value of 8 million tonnes during the first quarter of the financial year ending June this year.
It is a 48 per cent increase compared to the corresponding period last year, a railway press release said.
Originating freight means goods that has been loaded from Southern Railway zone and transported to other locations.
“Southern Railway loaded 9.32 million tonnes of originating freight during first quarter of the financial year ending June 2018. Significantly, the loading has surpassed the Railway Board’s target of 8.01 million tonnes by 16 per cent,” the release said.
“Further, there is a growth of 48 per cent in freight loading compared to the corresponding period of the financial year 2017-18. Coal constituted 62 per cent of the total freight,” it said.
Dolomite and Limestone loaded at Chennai Port saw an increase of 133 percentage this quarter, it added.
Source: PTI

Truckers of Odisha’s mine areas demand freight rate hike

/0 Comments/in /by

Truckers of Odisha’s mine areas demand freight rate hike

10th july 2018

Truck owners transporting minerals from Joda mining area of Keonjhar district have sought the intervention of the State Government for upward revision of transportation costs.
Truck and tipper owners have been demanding a rise in freight rates for vehicles engaged in transportation of minerals since February. Even after several rounds of discussion with transporting agencies, mine owners and plant owners, their demand has not been conceded to.
“The present freight rate is practically unfeasible and day by day tipper owners are debilitating financially. The transporters are not in a position to continue operation any more,” said Mining Area Truck Owners Association joint secretary Satyananda Karua.He said the transportation rate was last revised on May 17, 2017. Meanwhile, the diesel price has reached a new high and the cost of vehicle insurance has also increased.
The association has made several representations to Keonjhar Collector, transporting agencies and the mine owners. However, the matter has remained unresolved. Truck and tipper owners suspended transportation of minerals for a couple of days in the first week of this month protesting non-revision of freight rates. However, they resumed operation following assurance from the association that their demands will be met soon.
As many as 3,500 tippers of about 2,100 owners are engaged in mineral transportation which provide livelihood to 7000 families of drivers and helpers. Around 40,000 people residing in the mining areas directly and indirectly depend on the transportation business. The truckers are transporting minerals to railway sidings, sponge iron and steel plants. Drawing the attention of the State Government to the issue, the association has threatened to suspend mineral transportation, if its demand is not fulfilled.
As the Railways has failed to meet the wagon requirement for transportation of minerals, the sponge iron manufacturers of the State have to depend on truckers and this add to their manufacturing cost. Meanwhile, the Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association (SIMA) has urged state government to take up the issue with the Railway Ministry.
Source: THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS