Consumers should start cutting back on their energy use immediately, the bosses of France’s three big energy companies urged Sunday, warning of social tensions next winter unless reserves are replenished.

India will introduce a safety rating system for passenger cars - a measure it hopes will encourage manufacturers to provide advanced safety features and will boost the “export worthiness” of vehicles produced in the country.

Almost a month since Shanghai lifted its strict Covid-19 lockdowns, fashion retailers are stuck with piles of unsold stock as cautious consumers stay away from the commercial hub’s glitzy shopping districts.

China’s central bank said on Saturday it had signed an agreement with the Bank for International Settlements to establish a Renminbi Liquidity Arrangement (RMBLA) that will provide support to participating central banks in times of market fluctuations.

Oil prices settled up by more than $3 a barrel on Friday, supported by tight supply, but they notched their second weekly decline on concern that rising interest rates could push the world economy into recession.

India’s central bank is on course to bring down prices but the retail inflation rate is likely to remain above the top end of its mandated target band until December, Governor Shaktikanta Das said in an article in the Times of India on Friday.

Leaders of the Group of Seven rich democracies are having “very constructive” discussions on a possible cap on Russian oil imports, a German government official said on Saturday shortly before the start of the annual three-day G7 summit.

The Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners’ and Vanaspati Manufacturers’ Association has set the highest retail price of each litre of loose oil at Tk 180, down from Tk 185.

Migrant workers in Singapore no longer need special permission to leave their dormitories from Friday, after two years of coronavirus curbs, but campaigners criticised the decision to maintain some  “discriminatory” restrictions.

Surging US inflation has eroded consumer confidence, sending a closely-watched measure of how Americans feel about the economy to a record low, according to a survey released Friday.

Rice bran has become a sought-after commodity in India as the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils tries to overcome an edible oil shortage caused by global supply disruptions.

Japan’s core consumer prices jumped 2.1 per cent again in May, the second consecutive monthly jump of a level not seen in seven years, official data showed Friday.

Italy has managed to reduce its dependence on gas imported from Russia to 25 per cent from 40 per cent last year as it diversifies suppliers, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Friday.

With inflation rising sharply, and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, the United States is facing an increased risk of a downturn, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Friday.

The German business climate worsened in June, a key survey published Friday showed, as Europe’s largest economy faced up to a possible Russian gas stop.

Norway’s central bank announced Thursday a sharper-than-expected interest rate hike and warned of more to come, as policymakers tighten monetary policies worldwide to fight surging inflation.

Canadian inflation jumped to 7.7 per cent in May, marking the largest annual increase in prices for goods and services in almost four decades, the government statistical agency said Wednesday.

Prospects for a firm start on Wall Street helped European shares claw back from a new low for the year on Thursday as investors weighed the risk of hefty interest rate rises tipping economies into recession.

The US economy remains strong but a series of aggressive rate hikes meant to cool soaring inflation could eventually trigger a recession, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned Wednesday.

A retreat in oil prices continued on Thursday as investors reassessed the risks of recession and how fuel demand will be affected by rising interest rates.