logo
IMF slightly raises India's growth forecast to 6.4%

IMF slightly raises India's growth forecast to 6.4%

Reuters29-07-2025
July 29 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday slightly upgraded its 2025 and 2026 economic growth forecasts for India, citing a more favourable global economic situation.
The IMF revised its growth forecast for the South Asian country to 6.4% for both 2025 and 2026, up from the 6.2% it had projected in April.
India's growth outlook reflects "a more benign external environment than assumed in the April reference forecast", the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook report.
The organisation also raised its outlook for economic growth across emerging market and developing economies this year to 4.1% from 3.7%, driven by a more upbeat view on China.
The upgrade for emerging markets reflects a more optimistic outlook globally by the Fund, which nudged its global GDP growth forecast up to 3.0% for 2025 and to 3.1% for 2026.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Exclusive: Angola gets back $200 million collateral from JPMorgan after bond rebound
Exclusive: Angola gets back $200 million collateral from JPMorgan after bond rebound

Reuters

time7 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Exclusive: Angola gets back $200 million collateral from JPMorgan after bond rebound

LUANDA, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Angola got back $200 million of collateral in May that it had to post to JPMorgan (JPM.N), opens new tab earlier in the year, the finance ministry said, after the price of its bond rebounded, easing pressure on its finances. JPMorgan and Angola agreed in December a $1 billion, one-year derivative contract known as a total return swap backed by $1.9 billion in its government dollar bonds. In early April, JPMorgan demanded extra security from the Southern African crude oil exporter after a sharp oil price decline in the wake of tariff turmoil hit the value of Angolan bonds provided as collateral. "The improvement in the price of Angola's Eurobonds has a positive impact, allowing the amount paid in compliance with the margin call to be returned to the State. This refund has already taken place," the finance ministry told Reuters, adding that it received the cash in May. JPMorgan declined to comment. The price of the collateral bond for the loan from JPMorgan fell from 100 cents on the dollar at the end of March to a low of 86 cents during the selloff in early April when the margin call was invoked, before recovering to the March levels. It was quoted at 100 cents on Wednesday, traders said. Angola, which is saddled with high external debt to various creditors, including oil-backed loans from China, faces a slowing growth outlook and violent protests sparked by a fuel price hike on the back of removal of oil subsidies. The total return swap deal with JPMorgan saw the Wall Street bank provide the government with two financing tranches of $600 million and $400 million. The $1.9 billion freshly issued bonds that provide collateral for the deal did not generate any cash for the country. The bond, which will mature in 2030, is listed internationally and its price is usually quoted in line with movements in the broader market and Angola's other bonds. Total return swaps are seen as complex and risky financing instruments, and are very rarely used in sovereign funding. Angola's JPMorgan total return swap has added to concerns that heavily indebted, low-rated African countries are increasingly turning to "off-screen" transactions like bank loans, private placements and derivatives which could bring challenges including margin calls and higher interest rates. Africa's debt has soared to more than $1.8 trillion, according to data from the African Development Bank, leading to three sovereign debt defaults in the past four years and unconventional financing deals as governments seek to stay afloat. In Angola, concerns have been growing about falling social spending by the state amid demands for more investments into infrastructure projects like roads. The International Monetary Fund cut Angola's preliminary growth outlook for 2025 to 2.4% from an initial 3%, citing lower crude oil prices and tighter external financing conditions.

Bank of England live: Interest rate cut expected with inflation, jobs and Trump tariffs in focus
Bank of England live: Interest rate cut expected with inflation, jobs and Trump tariffs in focus

Reuters

time37 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Bank of England live: Interest rate cut expected with inflation, jobs and Trump tariffs in focus

6 minutes ago 06:20 EDT Mike Dolan, a columnist for Reuters The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. An expected cut that will take the Bank of England's key interest rate to 4% will be merciful relief for an economy badly in need of a lift. But overwhelming caution and a split among policymakers mean the easing cycle is set to be one of the shallowest and most drawn out in modern history. The BoE, like its central bank peers, has had a torrid five years, but with numerous home-grown twists and turns to boot. Bank of England interest rates over 50 years Deutsche Bank economists sought to quantify that caution this week by pointing out that the slow and shallow BoE easing cycle so far is already the third-longest since World War Two. If their forecast for the BoE's official bank rate - of four-quarter-percentage point cuts to 3.25% by next February - turns out correct, then this easing cycle will be the longest since 1945. Britain's main minimum wage rate will probably need to rise 4.1% next year to 12.71 pounds ($16.88) an hour, the body which effectively sets the rate said on Tuesday. That would keep up with the government's goal for it to match two-thirds of median earnings. Britain's minimum wage has risen steeply in recent years - increasing by 6.7% in April to 12.21 pounds an hour - and last year it was the second-highest in Europe after France in relative terms, OECD data showed. Rising wage costs across the whole economy are seen by the Bank of England as one reason why British inflation has been higher than elsewhere in Europe, though it expects pressure to ease as the job market is slowing. Britain's minimum wage is set by the government each year based on a recommendation from the Low Pay Commission, a government-appointed body that includes representatives from employers, trade unions and academia. Around 6.5% of British workers receive the minimum wage and a significant number are paid only slightly more. What is the current BoE interest rate? 19 minutes ago 06:07 EDT Suban Abdulla and David Milliken FILE PHOTO: A drone view of the City of London on June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Yann Tessier At its last rate meeting on June 19, the central bank kept interest rates at 4.25% in a 6-3 vote split. Noting the elevated global uncertainty and persistent inflation, the Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep rates on hold. The BoE had cut borrowing costs in May for the fourth time since August 2024. Rising inflation expectations 25 minutes ago 06:01 EDT David Milliken Surveys of businesses and households' expectations for future inflation have climbed over the past year. The Citi/YouGov measure of long-term expectations is near its highest since late 2022 - when headline inflation was in double digits - while the BoE's own survey is at its highest since 2019. Most BoE officials view these measures as an important guide to future price rises and wage demands, and even of the central bank's credibility. At the same time, some officials place less weight on these surveys, viewing responses as a reaction to recent inflation rather than a prediction of future behaviour. 26 minutes ago 06:00 EDT David Milliken and William Schomberg The Bank of England is widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter-point to 4% on Thursday. That would be its fifth cut in 12 months. However nagging worries about inflation are likely to split its policymakers and cloud the outlook for its next moves. The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee still appears divided between those who want aggressive action to offset the slowing job market, others who worry about persistent inflation pressure and a majority in the middle who favour gradual rate cuts. With a rate cut almost fully priced, focus for currency traders will be on the outlook for interest rates and whether the central bank could slow the pace at which it shrinks its holdings of government bonds, known as quantitative tightening. Stay with us for the decision at 1100 GMT, as well as reaction and the highlights of Governor Andrew Bailey's press conference.

Israel's Leviathan signs $35 bln natural gas supply deal with Egypt
Israel's Leviathan signs $35 bln natural gas supply deal with Egypt

Reuters

time3 hours ago

  • Reuters

Israel's Leviathan signs $35 bln natural gas supply deal with Egypt

JERUSALEM, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Israel's Leviathan natural gas field has signed a deal worth up to $35 billion to supply gas to Egypt, the largest export deal in Israel's history, NewMed , one of the partners in the field, said on Thursday. Leviathan, off Israel's Mediterranean coast with reserves of some 600 billion cubic meters, will sell about 130 bcm of gas to Egypt through 2040 or until all of the contract quantities are fulfilled. The Leviathan reservoir began supplying Egypt shortly after production began in 2020. It signed an initial deal in 2019 for 60 bcm, which is expected to be fully supplied by the early 2030s. Leviathan has already supplied 23.5 bcm of gas to Egypt since 2020, NewMed said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store