The United States and South Korea agreed on Saturday to implement liquidity facilities to stabilise financial markets if needed, Korea’s finance ministry said after a teleconference between finance chiefs of the two countries.

Japanese crude oil imports from the Middle East in August rose 12.1 per cent from a year earlier to 2.82 million barrels per day (bpd), equivalent to 13.88 million kilolitres, with Japan’s dependence on the region reaching 94.5 per cent, the industry ministry said on Friday.

India has slashed the base import prices of crude and refined palm oil, crude soya oil and gold, the government said in a statement late on Friday, as prices corrected in the world market.

China’s factory activity eked out growth in September, but a slowdown in services sector growth and a downbeat private manufacturing survey pointed to further cooling as the economy grapples with Covid-19 curbs and softening global demand.

The Reserve Bank of India’s benchmark repo rate was raised by 50 basis points on Friday, the fourth straight increase in the current cycle, as policymakers extended their battle to tame stubbornly above-target retail inflation rate.

Meta, formerly known as the Facebook company, for the first time has expanded its annual marketing summit to Bangladesh, and the digital event was aired yesterday.

Oil prices firmed on Thursday, erasing earlier losses, on indications that Opec+ might cut output, though a stronger dollar and weak economic outlook kept a lid on gains.

India’s depleted foreign exchange reserves are likely to drop further, falling to their lowest level in over two years by end-2022, as the Reserve Bank of India continues to defend the rupee from the mighty dollar’s rise, a Reuters poll found.

Bangladesh will export around 3,000 tonnes of hilsa to India marking upcoming Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community scheduled to be held next month. 

Russia’s aviation industry will aim to go it alone without the West, using locally built parts to produce 1,000 airliners by 2030 and end a reliance on Boeing and Airbus, state-owned engineer Rostec said.

European Union countries were at odds on Wednesday over whether to cap gas prices in the bloc, with France, Belgium and 13 other states stepping up their call for the move opposed by Germany and others.

The US will have a commercial attaché posted in its embassy in Dhaka by this year as trade between Bangladesh and the US is fast rising, said Peter D Haas, US ambassador to Bangladesh, yesterday. 

Oil prices rose on Wednesday in US trading hours as production cuts caused by Hurricane Ian outweighed downward pressure from a strengthening dollar and expected US crude stockpile builds.

Tata Motors launched India’s lowest priced electric car at a little over $10,000 on Wednesday as the country’s only electric vehicle (EV) maker looks to draw in more buyers.

The UAE and Oman are exploring investment opportunities worth 30 billion dirhams and will increase bilateral economic cooperation in strategic sectors, according to a statement released during President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed’s visit to the Sultanate.

The government yesterday urged Malaysia to speed up the signing of a free trade agreement as it looks to retain preferential market access after the graduation from the grouping of the least-developed countries.  

The World Trade Organization’s chief said Tuesday she believes the world is heading towards a global recession due to multiple colliding crises, and called for radical policies to revive growth.

The dollar lost a little of its strength Tuesday after starting the week by surging against major peers, including a record high versus the pound, but while equity markets stabilised, sentiment remained dampened by recession fears.

Regulatory reforms ensuring level playing fields for local and foreign companies and reforms in taxation are required to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) from the European Union (EU) nations to Bangladesh.

The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) along with 270 other trade bodies has urged the US Congress to reinstate the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for the convenience of American traders.