Seoul, May 6 (IANS) South Korea’s consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in 21 months in April, driven by soaring fuel costs amid the Middle East conflict, government data showed on Wednesday.Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.6 percent from a year earlier last month, according to the data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marks the largest on-year increase since July 2024, when inflation climbed 2.6 percent, reports Yonhap news agency.The latest rise was driven …
Latest Middle East conflict News & Updates
Washington, May 6 (IANS) US job openings remained unchanged in March at 6.9 million, according to data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The labour market has been volatile this year after a lacklustre year in 2025, with the Middle East conflict introducing significant uncertainty into the economic forecast and labour market.The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that layoffs increased in March. However, hiring increased, and more people quit their jobs, evidence of confi…
Wellington, May 6 (IANS) New Zealand’s unemployment rate eased to 5.3 per cent in the March 2026 quarter from 5.4 per cent in the December 2025 quarter, Stats NZ said on Wednesday. The statistics department reported the number of unemployed falling to 163,000 in the March 2026 quarter from 165,000 in the December 2025 quarter, with the employment rate standing at 66.7 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency.The underutilisation rate, a broader measure of untapped labour market capacity than unemplo…
New Delhi, May 4 (IANS) India’s air traffic registered a sequential slowdown in April compared to March for both domestic and international passengers, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.The downturn comes in the backdrop of the Middle East conflict which led to sharp decline in international flights.Domestic air traffic stood at 140.8 lakh passengers, which represents a 4 per cent drop (year-on-year) as well as month-on-month. International traffic saw a sharper declin…
New Delhi, May 3 (IANS) Amid rising global concerns over oil price volatility and the ongoing Middle East conflict, Morgan Stanley has struck an optimistic note on India, identifying the turbulence as a catalyst for long-term investment growth. In its latest report, the global brokerage has upgraded its outlook for India’s investment cycle, projecting the investment-to-GDP ratio to climb to 37.5 per cent by FY30, up from its earlier estimate of 36.5 per cent.This upward revision translates int…
New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) More than 49.8 lakh domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas cylinders were delivered on April 30, while fresh bookings were recorded for 41.6 lakh cylinders, as the supply of cooking gas remains normal in the country, with no dry-outs reported at retail distributorships despite the supply chain disruption due to the Middle East conflict. Online domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas cylinder bookings have increased to 98 per cent, while authentication code-based deliveries to the regi…
New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) The energy crisis triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the Middle East conflict has also brought out the contrasting styles in which India and China deal with their neighbours in an hour of need. When China offers energy, as it did with Taiwan, the offer arrives bundled with a political price tag attached to it. When India supplies fuel to Nepal or Sri Lanka, it does so through existing intergovernmental frameworks, with no conditions on sovereignty or po…
New Delhi, April 30 (IANS) India is likely to see an incremental cumulative capex of $800 billion over the next five years across defence, data centres and energy transition due to the Middle East conflict and its investment‑rate will touch 37.5 per cent of GDP in FY2030, a report said on Wednesday.The report from Morgan Stanley said about 60 per cent of the incremental capex is likely to be allocated to energy transition, data centres and defence.”In this context, we remain constructive on In…
Tokyo, April 30 (IANS) Japan’s industrial output in March edged down 0.5 per cent from the previous month on a crude oil price surge and supply chain disruptions stemming from the Middle East conflict, which weighed on the output of chemical and petroleum products, government data showed Thursday.The seasonally adjusted index of production at factories and mines stood at 101.9 against the 2020 base of 100, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in the preliminary report.The decrease fo…
Washington, April 30 (IANS) The US Federal Reserve has kept interest rates unchanged as rising global energy prices linked to the Middle East conflict pushed inflation higher, while policymakers flagged growing uncertainty around the economic outlook. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday (local time) said the central bank remains focused on its dual mandate of maximum employment and stable prices, even as inflation has “moved up and is elevated.”“The US economy has been expandi…