Remin Francis I R

Let’s start with India. The HSBC India Composite PMI was revised to 57.0 in March 2026, down from 59.9 in February, marking the slowest expansion since November 2022. The services sector continues to do the heavy lifting, while manufacturing is losing some steam. What stands out is that new orders grew at the slowest pace since November 2023, hinting that domestic demand is easing. At the same time, export demand is picking up, which is a positive sign. The services sector, with a PMI of...

Starting with India, India’s manufacturing momentum slowed in March, with the HSBC Manufacturing PMI easing to 53.9 from 56.9 in February. This marks the weakest improvement in nearly four years. The slowdown seems to be coming from rising cost pressures, intense competition, and uncertainty linked to the Middle East conflict. Employment saw its fastest growth in seven months, and exports remained strong, showing the best expansion since September 2025. Interestingly, companies are absorbing...

Last week’s global economic data tells a clear story: growth is slowing, but it’s far from collapsing. Let’s start with Japan, where inflation eased to 1.3% in February 2026 from 1.5%. This is the lowest since March 2022 and, importantly, below the central bank’s 2% target. Core inflation also dropped to 1.6%, while prices declined 0.2% month-on-month for the third straight month. Falling energy costs and softer food inflation are helping here, signalling that price pressures are cooling....