Market Bizzz

The government hiked the windfall profit tax on the export of diesel to Rs 7 per litre and brought back a tax on jet fuel exports, but slashed the levy on domestically produced crude oil in line with softening rates.

The dollar is “smartly higher” with central bank officials “all making clear the Fed still has work to do raising rates,” even as they differed on by how much, Ray Attrill, the head of currency strategy at National Australia Bank in Sydney, wrote in a client note.

The Fed needs to keep raising borrowing costs to bring high inflation under control, a string of U.S. central bank officials said on Thursday, even as they debated how fast and how high to lift them.

Still, the rapid, aggressive moves by the central bank have started to have an impact, and while officials say the US economy should continue to expand in the second half of the year, “many expected that growth in economic activity would be at a below-trend pace,” the minutes said.

Meanwhile, production at U.S. factories increased more than expected last month, as output rose at motor vehicle plants and elsewhere, pointing to underlying strength in manufacturing despite ebbing business confidence.

State-owned power giant NTPC floated a tender to raise Rs 5,000 crore term loan from financial institutions. As per the document, the bids can be submitted till 1100 hours on August 31.