Latest news with #industrialoutput
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
India's industrial output rises 1.5% year-on-year in June
NEW DELHI, July 28 (Reuters) - India's industrial output (INIP=ECI), opens new tab grew 1.5% year-on-year in June, government data showed on Monday. Economists polled by Reuters projected a growth of 2%. Industrial output grew at a revised 1.9% year-on-year in May. * Manufacturing output up 3.9% in June as compared to a revised growth of 3.2% in May * Electricity generation fell 2.6% in June as against a revised drop of 4.7% a month earlier * Mining activity dropped 8.7% in June as against a fall of 0.1% a month ago * Output of consumer durables, including cards and phones, grew 2.9% in June as compared to a revised drop of 0.9% a month ago * Output of consumer non-durables, such as food items and toiletries, fell 0.4% in June as compared to a revised drop of 1% in May * Capital goods output increased 3.5% in June as compared to a revised increase of 13.3% in May * Industrial output in April-June grew 2% as compared to a revised increase of 5.4% a year ago
Reuters
21-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
India's infrastructure output accelerates to three-month high in June
NEW DELHI, July 21 (Reuters) - India's infrastructure output (ININFR=ECI), opens new tab accelerated to a three-month high of 1.7% year-on-year in June, government data showed on Monday. The index, which tracks activity across eight sectors and makes up 40% of the country's industrial production, rose at a revised 1.2% in May, compared to the initial estimate of 0.7%. In March, the infrastructure output grew 4.5% year-on-year. * Crude oil output dropped 1.2% year-on-year in June against a fall of 1.8% in May * Natural gas production fell 2.8% year-on-year in June after a 3.6% decline in May * Cement output rose 9.2% year-on-year in June compared with a revised 9.7% increase in May * Steel production increased 9.3% year-on-year in June after a revised 7.4% growth in May * Fertilizer production fell 1.2% year-on-year in June after a drop of 5.9% in May * Coal production fell 6.8% year-on-year in June against an increase of 2.8% in the previous month * Electricity generation declined 2.8% year-on-year in June against a revised drop of 4.7% in May * Refinery products output rose 3.4% in June after a 1.1% growth in the previous month
Reuters
17-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
China's mixed commodity data sees soft steel, strong iron ore
LAUNCESTON, Australia, July 17 (Reuters) - China's industrial output and commodity import data for June has thrown up contrasting numbers that add to the challenge of getting an accurate reading on the state of the world's second-biggest economy. Steel production and iron ore imports appear to tell contrasting stories, with steel weakening in June but imports of the key raw material surging to the highest this year. Coal output has increased by 5% in the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2024, but thermal power generation, which is mainly coal-fired, dropped 2.4% in the first half. Aluminium output rose 3.4% in June from a year earlier and by 3.3% in the first half, but construction materials such as cement and glass both dropped by 5% in June. Part of decoding the seemingly mixed signals from the data is working out whether the numbers are part of longer-term trends, or driven by short-term factors. China's crude steel output fell 3.9% in June from May and by 9.2% from the same month in 2024, which was the largest year-on-year drop since August. The world's largest steel producer manufactured 83.18 million metric tons of crude steel last month, which took first half output to 514.83 million tons, a decline of 3% from the same period last year. Softer steel output fits with the narrative of a still struggling residential construction sector, but it doesn't explain why iron ore imports have been robust. China, which buys about 75% of global seaborne iron ore, saw arrivals jump by 8% in June from May, with imports of 105.95 million tons, the strongest month so far in 2025. However, iron ore imports are down by 3% in the first half of 2025 to 592.21 million tons. Prices explain some of the recent strength in iron ore imports, with Singapore Exchange contracts showing a declining trend since reaching the highest so far in 2025 of $107.81 a ton on February 12. They dropped as low as $93.35 on July 1, but have since recovered to end at $97.95 on Wednesday amid optimism that Beijing's stimulus measures will boost second-half steel demand. However, if annual steel output is to remain around the informal 1 billion tons cap, this implies that second-half production will be weaker than the first half's 514.83 million tons. There is still scope to build iron ore inventories, with port stockpiles monitored by consultants SteelHome dropping to 131.9 million tons in the week to July 11, down from 150.02 million in the same week last year. Another seeming contradiction is coal production, which rose 5% in the first six months of 2025 to 2.4 billion tons. The main use for China's domestic coal is power generation, and thermal power, which is overwhelmingly coal-fired with only a small amount of natural gas, dropped by 2.4%. Total power generation rose 0.8% in the first half, and given that hydropower also dropped by 2.9% it's clear that the rapid deployment of renewables such as wind and solar increased their share. Why would China want to produce record volumes of coal at a time when consumption is falling? There are two main reasons, the first being that it ensures that domestic coal prices remain relatively low, which keeps downward pressure on electricity costs at a time when major power users such as manufacturers are facing uncertainty from the trade war with the United States. The price of thermal coal at Qinhuangdao dropped to a four-year low of 610 yuan ($84.96) in June and while it recovered to 625 yuan on Wednesday, it is still down almost 20% from its 2025 high of 775 yuan in early January. The second benefit from higher domestic coal output is that it cuts the needs for supplies from overseas, and because China is the world's largest importer this means that seaborne prices have been under pressure. Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chinese economy bucks looming trade war to post Q2 GDP growth of 5.2%
July 15 (UPI) -- China's economy slowed in the second quarter but bucked expectations of a larger slowdown in the face of U.S. tariffs, a property market slump and a sluggish global economy, official figures out Tuesday show. Annual GDP growth came in at 5.2% in the April to June quarter compared with 5.4% in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said in its latest bulletin on the national economy. "The national economy withstood pressure and made steady improvement despite challenges. Production and demand grew steadily, employment was generally stable, household income continued to increase, new growth drivers witnessed robust development and high-quality development made new strides," the bureau said. The economic performance was bolstered by strong industrial output growth of 6.4%, led by manufacturing and mining. Production of 3D printing devices, electric vehicles and industrial robots, in particular, posted huge year-on-year growth of 43.1%, 36.2% and 35.6%, respectively. Industrial growth accelerated toward the end of the quarter, jumping to 6.8% in June compared with 5.3% in June 2024, and up 0.50% from May. The services sector was another bright spot for the world's second-largest economy with industries including software and IT services, transport and finance all recording stronger than average growth Annual retail sales growth, however, slowed to 4.8% in June compared with 6.4% in May. The country's crisis-hit real estate sector, which accounts for as much as a quarter of GDP, remained under pressure with a slump in investment deepening, down more than 11% compared with just over 10% in the same period in 2024. Standard Chartered economist Shuang Ding said the Chinese economy may not prove as resilient in the second half of the year as it had been thus far in 2025 due to an uplift from efforts to get goods to the United States ahead of the imposition of tariffs, as well as economic stimulus from the government in Beijing. "There will be some headwinds. Higher tariffs will take a toll on China's exports," Ding told the Financial Times. Chinese exporters may have seized on a window of opportunity provided by a series of pauses by the Trump administration in implementing reciprocal tariffs announced April 2 to get as much product stateside before the ax falls. However, China's previously heavily U.S.-dependent economy may already have adapted to the post-trade tariffs reality with the proportion of U.S. trade accounted for by China falling to 5.9% in May, its lowest level since 2002, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. Analysis of the figures by Forbes Magazine found U.S. imports from China fell almost 28% in the first five months of the year compared with the same period in 2018, but that there was a corresponding jump in imports from the rest of the world of more than 47%. China has gone from being the United States' largest trading partner to its third, behind Mexico and Canada. The huge drop may signal a wholesale effort by Chinese manufacturers to shift operations elsewhere to avoid the impending trade tariffs on China -- or simply an acceleration to triple-digit levels of imports from countries like Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea and Mexico that was happening anyway. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
2 FTSE 100 stocks that could soar if interest rates fall
Both the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve are expected to cut interest rates this year. And there are a few FTSE 100 stocks that could be set to benefit. Lower rates are likely to be unwelcome for the likes of NatWest, which has been an outstanding stock while borrowing costs have been higher. But the situation could be very different elsewhere. In the UK, I think BP (LSE:BP) could be a beneficiary. Lower interest rates mean lower borrowing costs and this makes companies more willing to build and manufacture things. All of this takes energy. And while the long-term outlook might involve wind and solar, increased industrial output in today's world means higher demand for oil. Shell could also benefit, but BP generates slightly more of its revenues in the UK. And there's another reason it stands to benefit more from the Bank of England cutting rates. In terms of balance sheet, BP has a lot more debt than Shell. And that means lower interest rates could result in a more dramatic reduction in borrowing costs – and a bigger boost to profits. The biggest challenge for the firm comes from the supply side. With the US and Saudi Arabia looking to boost production, there's a chance this could weigh on oil prices. Ultimately, though, I think this is a good time to consider buying shares in oil companies. And the prospect of lower interest rates means BP might be worth a look. By contrast, Experian (LSE:EXPN) stands to benefit much more from interest rates falling in the US. Despite being a FTSE 100 stock, it generates over two-thirds of its sales across the Atlantic. Lower interest rates typically lead to higher demand for mortgages. And the firm provides reports to lenders that allows them to assess the creditworthiness of prospective borrowers. Experian's key asset is its database. Maintaining this involves collecting information from hundreds of sources every month, making it virtually impossible to replicate. For companies with big – and valuable – databases, there's always a danger of a data breach (whether malicious or accidental). This is possibly the biggest risk with the stock. This happened with Equifax back in 2017 and it set the company back significantly. While data protection has improved since then, the threat of a cyber attack is still difficult to ignore. Ultimately, though, Experian's strong position in an industry that is likely to grow over time makes the stock one to consider. And if interest rates fall, there could be a boost on the way. In the stock market, investors have to think ahead. Bank stocks have fared well over the last few years, but the prospect of lower interest rates means that could be set to change. I think stocks like BP and Experian are where investors should consider directing their attention at the moment. Both look to me like potential beneficiaries of lower borrowing costs. Long-term investing involves thinking about more than the next six months. But being aware of what's going on can give investors an idea of where to look for opportunities. The post 2 FTSE 100 stocks that could soar if interest rates fall appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool Stephen Wright has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Experian Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
