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Snippets

November 2021

Oil demand recovery precarious
due to Omicron Turkish investors eye Bangladesh

Asian oil refiners' margins have slumped to the lowest in nearly as potential investment hub
five months amid worries that the Omicron coronavirus variant Bangladesh has a favourable business environment for Turkish
could deal another blow to oil demand recovery, already hit by investors thanks to its congenial policy making and regulatory
rising COVID-19 cases in Europe, states a report in The Daily Star. regimes, according to a 14-member delegation of the
Governments worldwide imposed travel curbs on travellers from Turkey-Bangladesh Business Council.
southern Africa during the weekend to limit the spread of According to the report in The Daily Star, Bangladesh's trade
Omicron, first detected in South Africa. with Turkey amounted to about $686.4 million in fiscal
According to the report, scientists are racing to find out whether 2019-20, when exports made up around $453 million of the
it is more transmissible or causes more severe disease than total against $233.4 million in imports. In FY 2020-21,
existing variants. It comes as refiners' margins in Asia and Bangladesh's exports to Turkey stood at $499.79 million. And
Europe had already taken a hit in recent weeks as many although the transcontinental nation sourced just 0.21 per cent
European countries reimposed coronavirus restrictions to contain of its imports from Bangladesh in the current fiscal year, the
surging COVID-19 cases. The double-whammy risks are derailing country could be a key focus for trade and investment under
the global economic recovery and by extension oil demand, which Turkey's Asia Anew initiative. Bangladesh's ICT, pharmaceutical
the International Energy Agency expects to grow by 5.5 million and light engineering sectors have good potential to attract
barrels per day (bpd) to 96.3 million bpd in 2021. foreign direct investment.

Spanish inflation at an all-time
29-year high
Spanish inflation accelerated in November to its highest level in
nearly three decades on the back of rising food and gas prices.
Consumer prices jumped by 5.6 per cent, up from a 5.4 per cent
increase in October, according to preliminary figures from national
statistics institute, states a report in The Daily Star. That is its
fastest pace since September 1992, when the rate was 5.8 per cent.
The surge in inflation in the eurozone's fourth-largest economy
was due largely to a spike in food prices, followed by higher gas
prices, mentions the report. Electricity costs, however, declined
slightly after a month-long acceleration. As in other European
Union nations, inflation in Spain has risen since the start of the
year after consumer prices declined during most of 2020 due to the
economic impact of pandemic lockdowns.

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