Category: Economy

On Monday, the world’s top exporter Saudi Arabia slashed crude prices for Asia over the weekend as oil prices extended losses. This signaled that the global markets are well supplied.

Since November, the Brent crude futures fell 98 cents (1.8%) to $71.63 a barrel by 0613 GMT and US West Texas Intermediate crude for October fell 95 cents (1.4%) to $68.34 a barrel. On Sunday, a statement was released from the state oil giant Saudi Aramco to the customers that they will cut October prices by at least $1 a barrel for all crude grades sold to Asia. Asia is their biggest buying region and the cuts in prices were larger than expected among Asian refiners.

In August the Asian customers requested fewer Saudi volumes as the delta variant prompted the return of movement of restriction. OPEC group expects the global oil market to continue tightening this year. They plan to receive output before flipping into surplus again in 2020.

The US indicated a patchy economic recovery that signals a slower fuel demand during a resurgent pandemic after the decline in crude. In the wake of Hurricane Ida, the losses were capped by the concerns that US supply would remain limited.

On Wednesday, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Iran’s new foreign minister Amir Abdollahian held talks with the top focus on the Afghanistan situation and the Chabahar port project. This was the first time when the call was exchanged between S. Jaishankar and Amir Adbollahian since he took charge as the finance minister. Jaishakar also congratulated Amir on his new position.

Both nations agreed to continue the consultations with the Iranian readout saying that Amir reiterated Tehran’s “principled policy to support the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan” that is made up of “all Afghan ethnic groups”. Amir also emphasized a regional approach to “defuse the crisis in the nation”.

Dr. S. Jaishankar took to his Twitter account to announce that India appreciates Iran’s facilitation of Indian repatriation flights from Afghanistan and agreed to strengthen their bilateral cooperation and discussed pressing regional issues. In September, India had evacuated more than 500 people after the fall of Afghanistan.

On the Chabahar port project, Amir called for “speeding up the project and expanding trade with India”. This project is Key to India’s connectivity to its west that provides links to Afghanistan and Central Asia. It is also key to the International north-south transport corridor that connects Mumbai to Moscow.

On Wednesday, Japan launched a new Digital Agency with the hope to bring a much-needed overhaul to antiquated systems that have had their shortcomings highlighted by the pandemic. Japan tried to give its government services and record-keeping a technological upgrade.

Currently, the country has old-fashioned paperwork for its people to apply for government services, and the central and local government offices use different systems for storing and managing the data which lacks compatibility.

During the Pandemic, the lack of digitalization for the government services became the major problem that caused delay and mishandling of applications for financial subsidies and support. It also slowed down the medical data transmission needed for the virus measures.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s political priority has been to promote digitalization to push administrative reforms since he took office last September. Digital Transformation Minister Takuya Hirai will head the agency with 600 staff that includes 200 people hired from the private sector and others transferred from other ministries.

It aims to digitize 31 areas for administrative procedures such as elderly care and childrearing as they standardize different systems used by municipalities within five years. They also plan to promote the use of a 12-digit ‘My Number’ assigned to all individuals. That will be issued as a multi-purpose identification card.

On Wednesday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil producer’s cartel and allied non-member countries led by Russia signed off on gradually increasing production. The global economy’s demands for fuel continue to recover from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The US pressured the OPEC group to move faster in restoring the production which was cut during the pandemic. The US asked them to potentially ease costs at the pump for American drivers. OPEC+ agreed via online meeting to follow the earlier plan to produce 4,00,000 barrels per day from October 1. The cartel and its allies are diligently trying to restore deep cuts from 2020’s lockdown which lessen the demand for fuel amid travel restriction.

The price of oil slipped to 0.4% at $68.26 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and crude oil traded down 0.4% at $71.36 per barrel which was an international benchmark. However, the recovery was seen with a slump to just above $62 for New York Mercantile Exchange crude on August 20.

An increase in supply of oil can cause a slip in price as it did in August while holding back the production can cost members money for their budgets.

The Indian economy grew by 20.1% in the April-June quarter as compared to last year’s same period. In 2020 Indian economy suffered a recorded contraction.

This is marked as the fastest pace of growth since the nation began publishing quarterly gross domestic products in 1996. This percentage is far higher than the January-March quarter where the economy grew 1.6%. The nation battered the coronavirus and a months-long nationwide lockdown which contracted 24.4% in the quarter of April-June in 2020. It pulled the country into recession. The country faces a recession when the economy contracts for two successive quarters. Despite the catastrophic surge in coronavirus infection throughout the country from March to early June, the Indian economy rebounded.

However, India avoided another nationwide lockdown, many industrial states were reimposed to localize restrictions to slow the spread of the infection. Fresh cases and deaths saw a sharp decline from their peak and the vaccination administration has picked up the pace.

In the fiscal year 2020-21, Asia’s third-largest economy India has suffered one of the biggest seatbacks where it contracted by 7.3% worsening from a slump that slashed growth to 4% from 8% in a two-year span before the pandemic.

On Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that imposing sanctions on the Taliban in Afghanistan will prove counterproductive and has urged the international community to support chances for positive development in the country.

Wang Wenbin also said that Afghanistan is an independent and sovereign country and the United States and its allies should learn from the lessons of history. It reflects and acts prudently on issues related to Afghanistan. He further added that imposing sanctions and pressure at every turn cannot solve the problem and that it will only be counterproductive. Wang responded to the reports that said the world leaders meeting at the G7 could consider new sanctions on the Taliban.

He believed that they should not let the tragedy of individual countries making mistakes only to have Afghan people and the international community, especially regional countries, foot the bill, be repeated. The international community needs to encourage and help in promoting the development of the situation in Afghanistan in a positive direction. It should also support the peaceful reconstruction and improve the well-being of the people and also enhance its capacity for independent movement.

China has sought to maintain friendly ties with the Taliban who shares the border with Afghanistan. China has seized on the US pullback from the country to sharpen its criticism of Washington.

On Monday, China hinted at stepping up a financial vacuum in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The officials said that it will play a “positive role” in helping the war-ravaged country amid global pushback.

Chinese overseas ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in his media briefing that the US is the “main perpetrator” for the Afghan disaster and Washington can not go away without doing something for Afghanistan reconstruction. China decided to financially help Kabul till the Afghan militant group modified its hardline non-secular insurance policies. China said that they have always adopted a friendly policy towards the entire Afghan people. According to them, they have always provided substantial assistance to socio-economic development for the nation. They blame the Biden administration to be the only external factor for the Afghan issue and China cannot leave the mess without doing anything. They want the US to match the words with deeds and shoulder its responsibility to honor its commitments in humanitarian assistance and reconstruction.

The ruling party said they will play a positive role in helping the nation in building peace, reconstruction, and improvement of people’s livelihood. China wants an early end to the chaos and wars in Afghanistan so that it can resume financial order at an early date.

British cricket legend Sir Ian “Beefy” Botham is appointed as the UK’s new trade envoy to Australia. Liz Truss who is the International trade secretary said that the Brexit backing sports star would do a “brilliant job” of drumming up trade for Britain. Botham will be among the 10 new envoys around the world.

Lord Botham was the former England cricketer known for his legendary clashes with Australia. He once said that Aussies are “big and empty” just like the country whereas he was known in the country as “Guy the Gorilla”. He played 102 Test matches for England between 1977 and 1922 and is an advocate of field sports and a prominent Brexit supporter who was knighted in 2007 for his recognition in charity service and cricket. Lord Botham is currently sitting as a crossbench independent peer in the House of Lords.

The international trade secretary said that the envoys will play a “key role” in delivering the government’s “ambitious global trade agenda” and they have supported more than 16 billion euros of UK export in 2020-21.

Baroness Hoey is appointed to Ghana, Stephen Timms MP to Switzerland and Lichtenstein, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP to Cameroon, David Mundell MP to New Zealand, Mark Eastwood MP to Pakistan, Macro Longhi MP to Brazil, Conor Burns MP to Canada, Lord Walney to Tanzania, Buchan MP to Iceland and Norway.

The German Foreign Ministry will provide for a program of 10 million euros ($11.7 million) to support people in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, this statement was released by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

Maas said that they are looking into the period of the evacuation and he spoke about it with the representative of the German Human Rights Organization. He further added that there are many representatives of NGOs, science and culture addressed to them. In recent years they have maintained a close partnership with Afghanistan and would like to continue to support the nation.

For the support, the German government is creating a “support fund” for those who campaigned for human rights, freedom of science, and culture. They focus on expanding the specific protection programs for Afghanistan and have allocated 10 million euros.

Earlier the German Chancellor Angela Merkel has described the Taliban’s Afghanistan takeover as “bitter, dramatic and terrible”. She feels terrible for the millions of Afghans who have worked for the freedom of a society.

Many countries have succeeded in evacuating their diplomats in the Central Asian country following the events after the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban.

On Tuesday, the Biden administration froze $9.5 billion of Afghan reserves. To keep the cash away from the Taliban’s hand, the US administration has decided to freeze the accounts. The cash belonged to Da Afghanistan Bank which was blocked from being shipped to the war-torn nation.

The decision was reported by the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and personnel at the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control in The Washington Post. The administration official told the newspaper in a statement, “any central bank assets the Afghan government have in the United State will not be made available to the Taliban”.

Taliban remains on the list of ‘Specially Designated National’ as a result of this action from the US administration. The captured country by the Taliban will not be given access by any Afghan central assets kept in the US when the nation will need any financial sanctions. The sizable portion of the New York Federal Reserve and other US-based financial institutions have put the IMF estimate of Afghan Central Bank assets at $9.5 bill till April.

As per the reports, it was said that the US State Department and the White House had consulted before the action which the Biden administration was contemplating with other actions as well to pressure the Taliban.