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India has revised the model concession agreement for national highway EPC projects. Performance security now depends on a contractor's rating: 3% of project value above 80%, 4% from 70% to 80%, and 5% below 70%, against a flat 5% before. The revision adds a fatal-accident penalty, a capped compensation formula and raw-material price adjustment. It is the first major revision since 2022.
Read the full story with sourcesChina's commerce ministry and customs authorities announced on 19 October that exports of tunnel boring machines, walking excavators and plateau-type wet shotcrete machines will need licences from 18 November. India's government says highway work will not slow much, but officials flag risks to the bullet train project. Imports of Chinese tunnelling machinery had already fallen sharply.
Read the full story with sourcesContainer capacity through the Suez Canal has passed half of pre-disruption levels, Clarksons data show. India to Europe spot rates have fallen and transit times are shorter. But carriers are also releasing capacity into a market forecast to be oversupplied in 2027, while war-risk insurance and attacks near Hormuz keep the outlook uncertain for buyers signing annual contracts.
Read the full story with sourcesBrent crude was $126.55 a barrel on 14 October, up 100.9% from a year earlier, while US diesel rose 1.6% in a week to $6.276 a gallon. US steel and truckload prices reached 12-month highs in September. The rupee traded at 94.7620 per dollar, up 0.83% in a month but 8.00% weaker than a year ago.
Read the full story with sourcesThe India-New Zealand free trade agreement took effect on October 20. New Zealand removed tariffs on all Indian goods on day one, and India cut duties on about 70% of its tariff lines. Apples, kiwifruit, Manuka honey and albumins get their biggest duty cuts inside quotas, and kiwifruit also pays a lower rate outside them.
Read the full story with sourcesBrent front-month futures hit a five-month high of $111.99 on 20 October before easing to $108.44. Attacks on shipping in and around Hormuz have pushed tanker earnings above $1 million a day and one-year charter rates to records. India imports more than 88% of its crude, so fuel, freight and war-risk costs rise together in rupees.
Read the full story with sourcesUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the India-US trade deal is close, with a small number of items left. Piyush Goyal says the first tranche is in legal drafting. But the 18% offer has not been signed, and the Supreme Court has struck down the reciprocal tariff regime it was tied to. Duties now rest on other measures.
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