German producer prices surged at their fastest pace in at least 73 years, raising concerns that the eurozone’s largest economy is at risk of a serious bout of stagflation.
Producer prices for industrial products were 30.9 per cent higher in March than they were the same month last year, the sharpest increase since the data series began in 1949.
The extent and particularly the breadth of the rise in producer prices suggests that German inflation will remain very high for a long time to come.
Russia is reaping the rewards for creating an alternative payments system that has helped mitigate the effect of more severe sanctions put in place after Putin sent tanks over Ukraine’s border.
Russia’s planning has also highlighted the risk for western powers that sanctions reorder the international payments landscape, shifting the financial system away from the US and towards China.
However, while international transactions have been limited, ordinary Russians have not felt much change as domestic transactions operate as normal — including for cards bearing the Visa and Mastercard logos.
Coal India Limited (CIL) on April 19 said that it has raised its supplies to thermal power stations by 14.2 percent during the first half of April 2022 compared to the same period last year amid rising demand.
Since the invasion began on February 24, the EU has paid Russia more than €20bn for gas imports alone. In 2021, 34 per cent of the EU’s gas supply was imported from Russia, mostly by pipeline.
Eastern, north-eastern and central European countries are particularly dependent on Russian supply.
Western European countries tend to rely on imports from other sources. Norway is a key supplier of piped gas, and Qatar and the US provide the bloc with liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is transported by ship.
China is locking down at least 20 places, including cities and regions, affecting nearly 30 million residents as authorities race to escalate measures to control the stealthy omicron variant that has fueled the country’s worst Covid-19 outbreak in 2 years
On Sunday, the city of Wuhu in Anhui province announced that it would lock down its central districts to carry out mass testing after it detected a single positive Covid-19 case.
The lockdown targeting more than 2 million residents aims to stop the virus in its tracks and minimize its overall impact, local authorities said.