India placed a temporary ban on unregulated wheat exports after the latest heat wave began affecting production and food price surged in recent months.
Elevated inflation in April was driven by not just the increase in food and energy prices but also stubborn price increases in health and education services.
The persistent supply chain strains and rising raw materials and energy costs weighed on the industrial production.
Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned and asked the president to form an all-party government as the economic pain deepens and violence spreads. The island nation has been hit with multiple economic shocks over the last three years.
Months of economic crisis have brought thousands of people on streets demanding the resignation of the current president and government. Economic crisis is expected to stretch into 2023 with the slow recovery in tourism and tea and apparel exports.
The Reserve Bank of India in a surprise move lifted repo rate and drained liquidity citing rising inflationary pressures and elevated fuel and energy prices.
Economic activities in China declined for the second month in a row in April. Construction and services sector showed a deeper decline as Covid Zero policy is enforced in dozens of cities.
Asian markets closed down sharply following market declines in New York in Friday's trading Nikkei index declined nearly 2% and indexes in China fell at least 4%. The Japanese yen also dropped to a two-decade low as the central bank policy diverges from the rate hike regime in the U.S.