Oil rose above $107 a barrel, while Saudi output in August fell by more than 40% from February. Core CPI increased 0.3% month on month, adding to expectations the Federal Reserve will raise rates on Sept. 16. US stocks and bonds both fell last week, with 2- to 30-year yields jumping 11 to 26 basis points as the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 declined in tandem.

Spot gold fell 1.2% to $4,349.32 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures slid 1.6%. A sharp rise in oil prices and fresh U.S. inflation data pushed expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike higher, with the implied odds rising to 70%. A firmer dollar and higher U.S. Treasury yields added pressure on bullion, while Brent crude touched $105 a barrel. Markets are also watching upcoming PCE data for further signals on inflation.

The Indian government has asked sugar mills to submit monthly production and sales data to help keep supplies adequate during the festival season and stabilise retail prices. Average sugar prices are up 39% year on year to Rs 60.2/kg, while urban retail prices have crossed Rs 65/kg. Sugar output in the current year has fallen 27% to about 28.1 million tonne, and the food ministry has received applications to import 0.8 million tonne under a duty-free quota of 1 MT.

Apple has unveiled its foldable iPhone Duo, priced at $1,999—$500 below the $2,500 level the market had expected. The company is positioning the device as a premium play built around high-end design and tighter ecosystem integration, aiming to take on Samsung and Huawei. IDC data show global foldable shipments fell 15% year over year in the first half of 2026, while Huawei held 50% of units and 55% of value in the second quarter. IDC forecasts foldable value to grow at a 20.6% CAGR from 2026 to 2030, with Apple contributing 81% of net value growth and 71% of net unit growth over that period.

Copper prices have risen 45% over the past year amid AI infrastructure demand and supply constraints, prompting electronics manufacturers in India to switch to aluminium to manage costs. Data show copper is up 8% over the last 60 days and 2% over 30 days. Aluminium fell 10% over the last 90 days, but gained 7% over 60 days. India’s refurbished smartphone market grew 13% year on year in the first half of 2026, while new device sales fell around 11%.

Digital advertising platform The Trade Desk said it will lay off 15% of its workforce and expects cash restructuring costs of US$39 million to US$51 million. The move follows its latest earnings report showing revenue up just 3% year on year, missing Wall Street expectations and sending the stock sharply lower. CEO Jeff Green said the company will increase investment in AI and pursue an organizational realignment, while noting it has about US$1.5 billion in cash and no debt.

Broadcom raised its fiscal 2027 AI chip revenue forecast to about USD 115bn and said it expects the figure to roughly double to USD 230bn in fiscal 2028. In the third quarter, the company posted revenue of $29.6 billion, up 86 percent from a year earlier. AI semiconductor revenue rose to $16.7 billion, an increase of 221% year over year.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to the collapse of a UN-backed Black Sea grain initiative in July 2023, and Russia and Ukraine together account for 27.4% of global wheat exports, setting the stage for a sharp rise in wheat prices. A separate shock has come from the US-Iran war that began on February 28, which lifted average Brent spot prices in March-August to $98 a barrel, up 41% from March-August 2025. The combined pressures are worsening food and energy strains across the Global South, including major energy importers such as India.

India’s opening sugar stocks for the 2026-27 season are projected to fall to 3.5 million tonnes, the lowest level in a decade. Sugar output in 2025-26 is estimated to drop 27% year on year to about 28.1 million tonnes, while the average retail price is up 39% year on year and 31% month on month. Even after the government introduced a fortnightly allocation system and factory-gate prices fell 20%, the supply squeeze has persisted as the share diverted to ethanol has eased to about 9%, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs’ price monitoring cell.