The United States has told Serbia it will not lift sanctions on the country’s largest oil company, NIS, unless Belgrade ensures a complete withdrawal of Russian ownership, Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Saturday, calling the weeks ahead “some of the most difficult decisions in our history”.NIS — the Petroleum Industry of Serbia — has been under US sanctions since 2022, imposed as part of Washington’s crackdown on Russia’s energy sector following the invasion of Ukraine, AFP reported. The measures have dealt a severe blow to Serbia, leaving the country perilously close to a winter energy crisis, with its only refinery at risk of shutting down.Handanovic said Belgrade had asked the Trump administration to lift sanctions in exchange for a management restructuring, but US officials insisted on full Russian divestment. “For the first time, the US administration has clearly and unequivocally said it wants a complete change of Russian shareholders,” she told reporters.Washington has given Serbia until February 13 to negotiate a solution.NIS is 45% owned by Gazprom Neft, already sanctioned by Washington. Gazprom transferred its additional 11.3% stake to another Russian entity, Intelligence, in September. The Serbian state holds nearly 30%, with the remainder dispersed among minority shareholders.Despite several postponements, the US Treasury began enforcing sanctions on NIS on October 9, intensifying pressure on Belgrade.The Serbian government is now examining whether it may need to take control of NIS to keep the energy system from collapsing. A special cabinet meeting is scheduled for Sunday.Handanovic acknowledged internal resistance, saying “I know President (Aleksandar) Vucic is against nationalisation, as are many of us in the government,” she said. “We will not let our country be put in danger, but we may face some of the most difficult decisions in our history in the coming days.”She urged Moscow to recognise the seriousness of the moment. “I hope our Russian friends will understand the gravity of the situation and help us overcome it,” she said.Serbia, which relies heavily on Russian natural gas, remains one of the few European nations that has not imposed sanctions on Moscow since the Ukraine war began.

New Delhi: India’s Wholesale Price Index (WPI) or wholesale inflation has “bottomholesale inflation bottomed out, may still remain negated out” and will probably gain slight momentum from November onwards, even as it may still remain in negative territory for most of the remaining months of 2025-26, Union Bank of India said in a report.

The Bank’s 2025-26 WPI forecast is currently tracking below 0.35 per cent amid what are being stated as subdued global commodity prices and a seasonal decline in food prices (with the impact of floods on food inflation seen to be capped).

“Food WPI remains depressed – spatial flooding and supply-chain disruptions did not materialise as expected, keeping food prices contained,” the report read. With 2025-26 Consumer Price Index (CPI) or retail inflation projections of the Union Bank of India also running sharply below the RBI’s latest estimates, it expects a 25 basis points repo rate cut in the upcoming December monetary policy review meeting.

While real GDP growth momentum remains robust, the report asserts that nominal GDP growth is expected to come under pressure due to subdued 2025-26 CPI and WPI projections. India’s wholesale inflation turned negative in October, with the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) recording a decline of (-) 1.21 per cent in October 2025 compared to the same month last year, according to official data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday.

A decrease in the costs of food articles, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, mineral oils, and basic metals mainly drove the fall in prices. The Ministry stated that the month-on-month change in WPI for October stood at (-) 0.06 per cent compared to September 2025.

The government releases the index number of wholesale price in India every month on the 14th of every month (or next working day, if the 14th falls on a holiday) with a time lag of two weeks of the reference month, and the index number is compiled with data received from institutional sources and selected manufacturing units across the country.

Inflation has been a concern for many countries, including advanced economies. However, India has largely managed to steer its inflation trajectory in a favourable direction. The RBI held its benchmark repo rate steady at 6.5 per cent for the eleventh consecutive time, before cutting it for the first time in about five years in February 2025.

India’s gems and jewellery exports fell sharply in October, sliding 30.57% to $2.17 billion (Rs 19,172.89 crore) compared to the same month last year, according to data released by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), PTI reported.Exports in October 2024 had stood at $3.12 billion (Rs 26,237.1 crore).GJEPC chairman Kirit Bhansali said the decline was largely expected, as overseas buyers had advanced their festive-season stocking before the US tariff came into effect.“Most of the stocking up for the festivals took place before August 27. Therefore, in October the demand was down. The decline in gold and silver exports is triggered by volatile bullion prices,” Bhansali told PTI.He added that exports should revive in November with Chinese market recovery and Christmas demand from major global buyers.Exports of cut and polished diamonds fell 26.97% to $1.02 billion (Rs 9,071.41 crore), down from $1.40 billion (Rs 11,806.45 crore) a year earlier.Shipments of polished lab-grown diamonds also saw a steep slide of 34.90% to $94.37 million (Rs 834.45 crore), compared with $144.96 million (Rs 1,218.25 crore) last October.Gold jewellery exports dropped 28.4% to $850.15 million (Rs 7,520.34 crore) from $1.18 billion (Rs 9,975.17 crore) a year earlier.Exports of coloured gemstones during April–October slipped 3.21% to $250.14 million (Rs 2,173.08 crore).Silver jewellery shipments dipped 16% in October to $121.37 million (Rs 1,072.81 crore), down from $145.05 million (Rs 1,219.01 crore) in 2024.