European shares end five-day losing streak, still down for the week European stocks rose 2% on Friday, clocking gains for the first time in six days after key U.S. jobs data eased bets of a more aggressive Federal Reserve, but logged their third straight week of falls on concerns over a spike in energy prices. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 2.0%, but clocked a weekly decline of 2%. “If wage growth continues to moderate along with prices for goods and services the Fed may find a window to ease back on the pace of hiking, an event that would surely set up a relief rally in equities,” said Peter Essele, head of portfolio management at Commonwealth Financial Network. Also read: Sensex, Nifty end flat in volatile session; Nifty support shifts to 17450, investors can add on dips Investors sharply raised bets this week on a large 75 bps rate hike from the European Central Bank at its meeting next Thursday following hawkish commentary from policymakers and another record high inflation print in August. Money markets priced in an 80% chance of a 75 bps hike at the meeting, compared with less than 50% last Friday, per Refinitiv data. Flows of Russian gas via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany remained at zero on Friday morning after Russia’s Gazprom halted supplies for a three-day maintenance outage on Aug. 31. “I think the global economy, especially the European economy, remains hostage to what Russia decides to do with gas flows, at least for this coming winter. We just have to brace for more potential trouble coming that way from Russia,” said Andrea Cicione, head of strategy at TS Lombard based in London. Credit Suisse rose 6.1% following reports that Switzerland’s second-biggest bank is considering cutting around 5,000 jobs in a cost-reduction drive. Ryanair firmed 2.0% as the Irish low-cost carrier saw a record number of passengers in August for the fourth straight month. Philips slumped to its lowest level since July 2012 after a subsidiary of the Dutch medical device maker agreed to pay more than $24 million to resolve alleged false claims over respiratory-related medical equipment, the U.S. Justice Department said. Also read: Stocks to buy: Asian Paints, Garden Reach shares ready for upmove; stocks may rally 13% Lacklustre August sales by Volvo Cars pushed shares of the Swedish automaker down 1.9%. Miners fell the most, shedding more than 6% this week as metals’ prices dropped on renewed concerns that China’s zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy and rate hikes would dent demand for commodities.
Retail inflation in milk was reported at 8.85% in May 2023. The milk inflation has remained elevated at over 6% since August 2022. Despite India being the largest milk producer since 1998, the commodity has been the second biggest factor after cereals such as rice and wheat in driving up retail inflation in the last fiscal.
Milk has the second highest weight in the food and beverages basket of the consumer price index at 6.61%, a notch lower than cereals and products with a 9.67% weight. Organised players, including Mother Dairy and Amul, hiked prices multiple times in the last one year citing higher fodder cost, robust demand and some impact due to reports of lumpy skin disease.
Industry sources said feed cost, which has a share of more than 65% in the cost of production of milk, has increased to Rs 20/kg from Rs 8 a year ago. The finance ministry in April had attributed the elevated milk inflation to a demand supply mismatch and said it could be one of the factors apart from volatile international crude oil prices and constrained supplies of milk would influence the country’s inflation trajectory.
“Milk production has been impacted by a lumpy skin disease infecting millions of cattle in late 2022,” the ministry said in the monthly economic review, adding that the vaccination drive against the disease is expected to curb the spread and immune the cattle against the skin disease.
According to official data, currently India is the world’s largest milk producer, and has a share of 23% in global milk production. For the first time in decades, the country’s milk production is likely to have stagnated in 2022-23 due to Lumpy Skin Disease in cattle across several states and the lagged effect of Covid-19 in the form of stunting of the animals, a senior official with department of animal husbandry and dairying recently had stated. The milk production was estimated at 221 million tonne in 2021-22.