IBTimes News

In 2025, gold has seen a meteoric rise, up around 67 per cent amid geopolitical uncertainties and tariffs. According to analysts, gold and silver prices advanced last week and began the new week by touching fresh lifetime highs in both domestic and international markets.

After delivering extraordinary returns over the last two years, the real estate and data centre player has seen its share price fall nearly 35.5 per cent so far this year, making 2025 its worst annual performance in the last six years.

While the Asia-Pacific economy is expected to moderate in 2026 amid changing trade policies and cautious capital flows, India's property market is set to benefit from sustained demand and relatively stable conditions.

All Secretaries of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Chairmen of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), and the Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India were also present, besides senior officers from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and associated departments.

The report from JM Financial noted that the rupee depreciated about 6 per cent in 2025 compared to the historical average annual depreciation of roughly 3.5 per cent, citing FII outflows and tradedeal overhang with the US.

Gold reserves increased by $758 million to $107.741 billion during the week, the central bank said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by $14 million to $18.735 billion.

Softer inflation data from the United States also weighed on prices, even though gold is usually seen as a hedge against rising inflation. On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures for February delivery were trading 0.56 per cent lower at Rs 1,33,772 per 10 grams during early trade.

The report highlighted that sector rotation toward industrials, green energy, metals & mining, and technology has occurred, with these sectors leading due to PLI-led manufacturing, infrastructure investments, and scale-up of digital-led businesses.

India reached 709 million active UPI QRs, marking a 21 per cent increase since July 2024. Dense QR acceptance across kiranas, pharmacies, transport hubs, and rural markets has made scan-and-pay the default payment mode nationwide, according to the report by Worldline India.

According to the SBI report, the data also indicates that the current fall is the quickest (in terms of number of days) of the rupee, scaled to 5 per USD. In less than a year, the rupee has slid from 85 to 90 per dollar.