Tag: animal spirits

In the month of November that saw the omicron variant of coronavirus induce fresh concerns about risks to the recovery, India’s economy was expanding at a steady pace. All eight high-frequency indicators tracked by Bloomberg News were steady last month, keeping the needle on a dial measuring the so-called ‘Animal Spirits’ unchanged at 5. The level was arrived at by using the three-month weighted average readings to smooth out volatility in the single-month scores. But the pace of activity based on indicators from demand for services to factory output-faces threats from rising cases of the omicron variant first detected in South Africa toward the end of last month. While the Reserve Bank of India this month kept its full-year growth forecast steady at 9.5%, Governor Shaktikanta Das sounded cautious, saying “it is too premature to gauge” the effects of the new strain at this stage. Read more

The economy in India picked up speed in September as a revival in demand and business activity helped drive the nation toward recovery from the pandemic-induced slump. Five of the eight high-frequency indicators, including exports, tracked by Bloomberg News improved last month, while three were steady. That helped move the needle on a dial measuring the so-called ‘Animal Spirits’ to 5 from 4 in August -- a level arrived at by using the three-month weighted average to smooth out volatility in the single-month readings. Economists, including those at the Reserve Bank of India, attributed the recovery to pent-up demand after a strict lockdown imposed in March to contain the coronavirus outbreak hit the consumption of goods and services. While inventory re-stocking will underpin business activity in the coming months, the improvement might still not be enough to prevent Asia’s third-largest economy from contracting in the financial year to March 2021. Read more