Adversity sometimes moves things along like nothing else. Under pressure from the threat of Washington’s tariffs, India and the European Union on Tuesday agreed the contours of a trade deal after muddling through stop-start negotiations for nearly 19 years.

Gold discounts in India widened this week as demand fell despite the wedding season after prices scaled record highs, while Chinese demand remained muted amid volatility and high spot prices.

India’s blistering growth has a quality problem. GDP is speeding ahead at 8 percent in the world’s fifth-largest economy but the government is doing the heavy lifting on investment.

India’s central bank cut interest rates on Friday and signalled more could be on the way as low inflation provided room to help cushion the world’s fifth-largest economy against US President Donald Trump’s tariff blitz.

India has approved a more than $800 million plan to boost production of rare earth magnets in an effort to secure supplies and cut its dependence on imports from countries like China.

India’s Russian oil imports are set to hit their lowest in at least three years in December, down from multi-month highs in November, as refiners turned to alternatives to avoid breaching Western sanctions, trade and refining sources said.

Ten large Indian trade unions condemned the government’s rollout on Friday of new labour codes, the biggest such overhaul in decades, as a “deceptive fraud” against workers.

India has unveiled a $5 billion plan to boost export competitiveness as it reels under punishing US tariffs.

India’s retail inflation slumped to a record low of 0.25 percent in October, driven by a sharp fall in food prices and tax cuts on consumer goods, paving the way for a rate cut by the central bank in December.

In the midst of a tariff battle with the United States, India will formally operationalise its free trade agreement (FTA) with four countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) bloc on October 1.

India’s central bank cut interest rates in the world’s fifth-largest economy on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs kicked in and policymakers warned of “challenging global economic conditions”.

India’s economic growth could slow by 20-40 basis points in the ongoing financial year due to the latest US tariffs, which would prompt deeper interest rate cuts by the central bank, analysts said.

India on Thursday reacted cautiously to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs with exporters saying the flat 27 percent on exports imposed on fifth-largest economy could have been far worse.

India’s retail inflation fell below 4 percent in February for the first time in six months mainly due to a decline in vegetable prices, giving the central bank room to cut rates further in coming meetings.

Indian exports are facing mounting pressure from aggressive trade policies by partners such as the United States and the European Union, a senior trade ministry official said on Tuesday.

India’s central bank cut interest rates Friday for the first time in nearly five years, as concerns over a growth slowdown in the world’s fifth largest economy outweighed inflation risks.

India’s growth trajectory is expected to pick up in the second half of 2024-25, driven by domestic private consumption and a sustained revival of rural demand, the central bank said in its monthly bulletin released on Tuesday.

Sugarcane yields in India are declining due to last year’s drought and this year’s excessive rains, which could reduce the country’s sugar production below consumption levels for the first time in eight years, farmers and industry officials said on Monday.

The Indian rupee slipped to its all-time low on Friday before turning course to end modestly higher, aided by likely dollar inflows, although its losing steak persisted into a seventh straight week.

India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by nearly $2 billion to an almost six-month low of $652.87 billion as of December 13, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday.