
Pound plunges to one-month low against dollar; GBPINR edges slightly higher
The British pound plunged to a one-month low against a firm dollar overseas as markets sentiments turned risk averse amid boiling tensions in Middle East and investor flocked to safe haven dollar for respite. The demand for the US Dollar as a safe-haven asset increased, with the US Dollar Index revisiting two-week high above 99 mark. Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump reportedly said that Washingtons military forces have successfully demolished Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Meanwhile data from UK showed better-than-projected flash S&P Global Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data for June. The Composite PMI came in at 50.7, higher than estimates of 50.5 and the prior release of 50.3. GBPUSD is currently seen quoting weaker by over half a percent at $1.3400. On the NSE, GBPINR futures are trading higher by 0.17% at 116.89.
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India.com
40 minutes ago
- India.com
India-US Trade Deal To Increase US Exports To India: Crisil
New Delhi: Given that India has much higher tariffs than those imposed by the US, the impending Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) — which would reduce tariffs — is set to increase US exports to India more than vice versa, according to an analysis by Crisil. India would be able to import more energy products, certain agricultural products, and defence equipment, among others, from the US, Crisil said in a 'Quickonomics' report. India, according to Crisil, should be prepared to see more imports from the US under the BTA. A lowering of tariffs under the agreement would make US goods more competitive in India, it argued. "This is because India's tariffs are much higher than those of the US, and bringing these down would be advantageous to exporters in the US," Crisil said. India's exports, however, are unlikely to see a major spike because the focus of President Donald Trump's administration is to reduce its trade deficit with India, and most of India's top exports to the US are already duty-free (excluding the baseline 10 percent tariff applicable since April 10). Besides, the export potential would also depend on the level of tariffs India faces compared to other competing nations, Crisil noted. The US has categorically stated that it wants to reduce its trade deficit with India (among other nations) and has complained that India's high tariffs and non-tariff barriers have hindered American companies from increasing their exports. Even though India has shown its discomfort with allowing US agricultural products into the country, imports of certain items such as walnuts, pistachios, and cranberries could rise, as India's share in US exports of these items was relatively low — at 19.4 percent, 5.0 percent, and 3.1 percent, respectively — in 2024. This contrasts with almonds, where India's share was a hefty 70.5 percent in 2024 — making it one of the US's top agricultural export items to India. Further, with India's aviation sector growing, there is scope to increase imports of civilian aircraft, engines, and parts. According to Crisil, there also seems to be strong complementarity in the energy sector, as the US is a large exporter and India a large importer of energy commodities. Even though India has a significant opportunity to import crude oil from the US, Crisil said the prospects of increasing such imports would have to be weighed against challenging factors — such as the higher cost of transportation and longer transit times. "The US is a large exporter and India a large importer of LNG, providing a mutually beneficial ground. Here, the synergy seems to be much better than that in crude petroleum, as the US is already among the top three suppliers of LNG to India," Crisil said. "With favourable factors such as US natural gas prices being more stable than those in the Middle East (India's largest LNG import partner) and long-term contracts being signed between Indian entities and US suppliers, there has been an increase in the import of this commodity from the US," it added. Defence imports into India could also rise under the BTA. "Even as India is trying to increase its defence production and export capabilities, it remains one of the largest arms importers. At the same time, the US is the world's largest arms exporter. While Russia has traditionally been India's largest arms supplier, its share in India's arms imports has declined in recent years. This has created space for Western suppliers, led by the US, to step up their sales," the report said. In fact, in 2023, the US and India launched a bilateral Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (called INDUS-X) to facilitate defence collaboration between the two countries. Combining all these opportunities, India's trade surplus with the US is expected to come down — a major demand from the US, which has implemented reciprocal tariffs on countries in proportion to their trade surplus with it. On the other hand, India may see some gains in exports of smartphones, certain pharmaceuticals, and labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and gems and jewellery. The US announced reciprocal tariffs on India and a host of other nations on April 2, and then paused the increase for 90 days from April 10 to negotiate trade deals with these countries. (For India, the reciprocal tariff was 26 percent — lower than the tariff on many other Asian peers.) During the pause period, a 10 percent base tariff remains applicable (over and above the existing tariffs) on all countries, including India. India is currently negotiating a trade deal with the US, known as the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) — the first tranche of which is targeted to be completed by the fall of 2025.


Economic Times
42 minutes ago
- Economic Times
L&T lists India's 1st ESG bonds on NSE, raises Rs 500 crore
Engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Monday announced the listing of the country's first environmental, social and governance bonds on the NSE, raising Rs 500 crore through debentures. ADVERTISEMENT In a filing to BSE, the company said it "has listed India's first ESG bonds on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), setting a precedent for a greener and more sustainable financial future in India". The company said it has raised Rs 500 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCD) at a coupon rate of 6.35 per cent. The debentures will mature over a period of three years, with annual interest payments. HSBC served as the sole lead arranger for the transaction. The bonds, issued under Sebi's newly introduced ESG and sustainability-linked bond framework, were launched on June 5. "This deal reinforces our commitment to driving L&T's ESG goals and supporting the larger energy transition objective," R Shankar Raman, president, whole-time director and CFO of the company, said. ADVERTISEMENT As part of the sustainability-linked bond agreement, the company undertakes environmental commitments, targeting measurable reductions in freshwater withdrawal intensity and greenhouse gas emissions. These goals align with the company's broader vision of achieving water neutrality by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2040. "This successful issuance is a significant milestone in India's financial markets, illustrating growing investor appetite for ESG-compliant financial instruments and setting a benchmark for future sustainable financing ventures," it said. (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)


Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
US business activity moderates; price pressures building up
U.S. business activity experienced a slight slowdown in June, while prices increased due to President Trump's tariffs on imported goods. Input costs for manufacturers surged, leading to higher prices for consumers. Economists anticipate an acceleration in inflation during the second half of the year, potentially influencing the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decisions. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads INFLATION POISED TO ACCELERATE Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads U.S. business activity slowed marginally in June, though prices increased further amid President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs on imported goods, suggesting that an acceleration in inflation was likely in the second half of the survey from S&P Global on Monday showed measures of prices paid by factories for inputs and charged for finished products jumped to levels last seen in 2022. Nearly two-thirds of manufacturers reporting higher input costs attributed these to tariffs while just over half of respondents linked increased selling prices to tariffs, S&P Global supports economists' expectations that inflation would surge from June following mostly benign consumer and producer price readings in recent months. Economists have argued that inflation has been slow to respond to Trump's sweeping import duties because businesses were still selling stock accumulated before the tariffs came into effect.S&P Global's flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, slipped to 52.8 this month from 53.0 in May. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the private survey's flash manufacturing PMI was unchanged at 52.0. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the manufacturing PMI easing to 51.0. Its flash services PMI dipped to 53.1 from 53.7 in May. Economists had forecast the services PMI falling to 53.0. The survey was conducted in the June 12-20 period, before the U.S. joined in the conflict between Israel and Iran."The June flash PMI data indicated that the U.S. economy continued to grow at the end of the second quarter, but that the outlook remains uncertain while inflationary pressures have risen sharply in the past two months," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market hard data on retail sales, housing and the labor market have painted a picture of an economy that was softening because of the uncertainty caused by the constantly shifting tariffs policy. The escalation in tensions in the Middle East added another layer of S&P Global survey's measure of new orders received by businesses declined to 52.3 from 53.0 in May. A measure of prices paid by businesses for inputs fell to 61.6 from 63.2 last month. But manufacturers faced higher input costs, with this price gauge jumping to 70.0 this month. That was the highest reading since July 2022 and followed 64.6 in paid for inputs by services businesses remained elevated, with tariffs, higher financing, wage and fuel costs cited. The pace of increase, however, slowed amid survey's measure of prices charged by businesses for goods and services remained at lofty levels as manufacturers passed on the increased costs from tariffs to consumers. The prices charged gauge for manufacturers shot up to 64.5, the highest since July 2022, from 59.7 in oil prices because of the strife in the Middle East are seen contributing to higher Federal Reserve last week kept the U.S. central bank's benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range, where it had been since December. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters he expected "meaningful" inflation ahead."The data therefore corroborate speculation that the Fed will remain on hold for some time to both gauge the economy's resilience and how long this current bout of inflation lasts for," Williamson picked up this month, mostly driven by manufacturing, where some factories are experiencing order backlogs. S&P Global noted a slight rise in optimism among manufacturers "in part reflecting hopes of greater benefits from trade protectionism."It, however, added that "companies generally remained less upbeat than prior to the inauguration of President Trump."