Money Talks

As global food prices continue to rise and shortages emerge in many countries, Türkiye's looking to boost its output to ensure adequate supplies for both the domestic and export markets. Government and private sector players are gathering for the Agriculture Summit in Adana. TRT World's Rumeysa Codar is there and sends this report.

#Türkiye #Agriculture #FoodSecurity

The World Bank says rising food and fuel prices and supply chain disruptions worsened by Russia's attack on Ukraine are taking a devastating toll on the global economy. It expects global growth to slow significantly from 5.7% in 2021, to 2.9% this year. Officials say that rate could drop even lower if supplies of grains and fuel from Ukraine and Russia don't normalise soon. Developing economies are likely to face the brunt of this slowdown. The World Bank says some of them are at risk of 'severe recession' not seen since the 1970s.

Economist Joann Weiner, who is the director of the Applied Economics graduate programme at George Washington University joined us for details.

#GlobalEconomy #InterestRates #GrowthProspects

In South Korea, truckers have expanded a strike that is threatening to slow down shipments like cars and electronics to other parts of the world. The labour action is on its fourth day, and has already resulted in disruptions across the country. Shipments from the industrial hub of Ulsan have been suspended entirely. That port accounts for a tenth of the nation's trade, and is the main facility used by auto giant Hyundai.

Frank Smith is following this story from Seoul. He has more on the government's response.

#SouthKorea #TruckerStrike #KoreanTruckers

Stocks are mostly down to end the week over concerns about the health of the global economy. Investors are looking ahead to data on consumer prices out of the US on Friday. Analysts expect inflation for the month of April to have stayed at just over 8%. Meanwhile, investors are digesting the European Central Bank's signal that it will raise interest rates next month. That would be the first such move in more than a decade, with further hikes planned for later in the year.

Craig Erlam is a senior market analyst at OANDA in London. He says the European Central Bank may be acting a little too late.

#USInflation #ECB #InterestRates

The price of crude has risen to its highest in more than two months, putting more strain on households and businesses that rely on the commodity. International benchmark Brent surged to more than $123 a barrel, or 2% overnight. The global supply of crude remains tight, due to sanctions on Russia, a major exporter. Demand is also climbing, partly due to the easing of lockdowns in China, the world's second largest economy.

We had Han Tan, who is the chief market analyst at Exinity Group in Abu Dhabi.

#OilPrices #OilDemand #OilSupply

The World Bank has issued a dire warning: economies almost everywhere will slow down significantly this year. In its twice a year check-in, the multilateral lender slashed its global growth forecast to 2.9%. That's lower than the January prediction of more than 4%, and about half of last year's expansion. Officials describe this year's challenge as a 'perfect storm' caused by convergence of several dark clouds.

For more on global economic outlook, Equiti Capital market analyst David Madden joined us from London.

#WorldBank #GlobalEconomy #GrowthProspects

Sri Lanka's prime minister says the country is facing a critical shortage of fuel, which will continue for at least the next three weeks. He's calling on the public to avoid travel, and says without urgent international assistance, food and fuel shortages could jeopardize the lives of millions of people. Mobin Nasir reports.

We spoke to Rohan Samarajiva, who runs the think tank LIRNEAsia in Colombo. He says the fuel shortages are disrupting supply chains and leaving millions of households unable to cook meals.

#SriLanka #SriLankanEconomy #FuelShortage

Australia's central bank has surprised markets with a larger-than-expected hike in its benchmark interest rate. The adjustment of half a percentage point is the largest in more than two decades. It's a sign that officials there are growing increasingly concerned over consumer prices, which rose more than 5% in the first quarter. Meanwhile in China, economic engines are once again starting to fire on all cylinders after the easing of lockdowns.

Naeem Aslam is the chief market analyst at AvaTrade in London. He says consumer prices won't cool down soon.

#Australia #Inflation #InterestRates

Oil is surging to start the week after Saudi Arabia raised the price of crude being sold to Asian consumers. The international crude benchmark rose 1% to top $120 a barrel. It's recognition that the world's largest exporter of the commodity expects global supply levels to remain tight.

That's despite the oil cartel OPEC, which is led by Saudi Arabia, announcing plans to raise output to meet growing global demand.

We spoke to Neil Atkinson, who is an independent energy industry analyst in Paris.

#OilPrices #SaudiOil #OPEC

Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, wants to develop a bipartisan road map to pull the country out of its economic crunch. In his first address to the nation, Shehbaz has sought dialogue with all his political rivals including his predecessor Imran Khan to implement economic reforms. He made the offer as economists warn Pakistan could potentially face a Sri Lanka-like situation. Kamran Yousaf has more in this report.

Economist Ali Khizar told us more about how rising prices will affect regular Pakistanis in the coming year.

#Pakistan #PakistanEconomy #FuelPrices