News

⑴ The shockwaves from the Iran war have spread from the crude oil market to the daily dining tables of ordinary Indian consumers. Due to the soaring prices of key raw materials for plastic bottles and caps, the price of bottled water in India has risen sharply, directly erasing the benefits brought to the public by Prime Minister Modi's previous tax reduction policy. ⑵ Bisleri, India's largest bottled water producer, has raised its product prices by 11%. The retail price of a box of twelve 1-liter bottled waters has increased from 216 rupees to 240 rupees. The company's CEO stated that packaging material costs have surged by more than 70% in the past two weeks, and the current situation is beyond anyone's control. ⑶ The direct driver of this price increase is the surge in oil prices caused by the war. The cost of polymer materials used to make plastic bottles has risen by 50% to 170 rupees per kilogram, while the price of bottle caps has more than doubled to 0.45 rupees each. At the same time, the prices of packaging materials such as corrugated cartons, labels, and tape are also rising. ⑷ The price hikes have completely reversed the price reduction effect brought by the Modi government's significant cut in the bottled water tax rate from 18% to 5% last September. The CEO of Clear Premium Water admitted that price adjustments have become inevitable, with the retail price of its products also rising by 8% to 11%. In this country, where groundwater pollution is a serious issue, clean drinking water is becoming increasingly luxurious.

BlockBeats News, March 19th, the Bank of England will announce its interest rate decision and meeting minutes at 20:00 East 8th District tonight, and the European Central Bank will announce its interest rate decision at 21:15. The Middle East conflict has disrupted the situation, with major central banks' monetary policies experiencing sudden changes. This time, both are expected to maintain a wait-and-see mode, but the market's bets on future interest rate hikes continue to emerge. (Jin10)

Golden Ten Data reported on March 19 that the Swedish central bank has kept its key interest rate at a three-year low of 1.75% for the fourth consecutive meeting, and once again indicated that it does not plan to adjust the rate this year. The bank also stated it is waiting for more clear information regarding the impact of the Middle East war. Officials have raised this year's inflation expectations and lowered economic growth forecasts. The Swedish central bank said: "The committee believes that the current policy interest rate level, along with the unchanged forecast compared to last December, constitutes a balanced and prudent monetary policy. This helps promote economic recovery and keeps more potential inflation rates around the 2% level at the beginning of the year."