US Stocks: Futures rise as focus shifts to inflation data U.S. stock index futures inched higher on Thursday as investor focus turned to October inflation data for clues on the path of future interest rate hikes. Republicans were edging closer to securing a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives early on Thursday but the control of the Senate hung in balance, two days after Democrats staved off a Republican “red wave” in the elections. Also Read: Buying foreign stocks is legal in India – Here are five simple ways to invest in the US stock market “The market is hoping they (CPI numbers) will deliver firmer signs that inflation in the U.S. has peaked and which … in turn will raise expectations that the pace and severity of the monetary tightening being delivered by the Fed can be eased,” Stuart Cole, head macro economist at Equiti Capital, said. Traders are split on whether a 50 basis points or 75 basis points rate hike by the Fed is likely in December. At 5:44 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 29 points, or 0.09%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 6.5 points, or 0.17%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 33.25 points, or 0.31%. Rivian Automotive Inc gained 6.7% after the electric-vehicle maker reported a smaller-than-expected loss, higher number of preorders and reaffirmed its full-year production outlook. Online dating firm Bumble Inc fell 11.4% in thin trading as it forecast fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations. The CBOE volatility index, also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, rose to 26.56 points, and was close to a weekly high.
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.