The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged, while President Christine Lagarde downplayed a recent rally in the euro and maintained that inflation as broadly balanced.

In the UK, central bankers came within a vote of lowering interest rates and predicted inflation will fall below its target, a closer-than-expected decision that revived hopes the Bank of England will cut next month. 

Ahead of next week’s marquee US jobs report, several releases showed the labour market remains in a fragile state. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached a deal to reduce tariffs.

Here are some of the charts that appeared on Bloomberg this week on the latest developments in the global economy, markets and geopolitics:

World

Trump and Modi took a major step to reset fractured ties with a surprise deal on Monday to slash tariffs, bringing much-needed relief to India’s economy. Trump said Modi had agreed to buy $500 billion of US goods, cut its tariffs to zero, and halt crude purchases from Russia, a key demand of the US president.

In addition to the decisions by the ECB and BOE to stand pat, Armenia, Madagascar, Iceland, Poland, Czech Republic, Mexico and India also left rates unchanged. Australia became the first major economy to hike interest rates in 2026. 

USA

US companies added fewer jobs than expected in January, pointing to a continued slowdown in the labor market at the start of the year.

Private-sector payrolls increased by 22,000 after a downward revision to the prior month, according to ADP Research. The ADP figures offered a glimpse of the labor market in January as official data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was delayed due to the partial government shutdown.

US manufacturing activity unexpectedly expanded in January at the fastest pace since 2022, energized by solid growth in new orders and production, Institute for Supply Management data showed.

Following nearly a year of contraction, the demand-related spike in factory activity is welcome news. Sustained growth would help provide reassurance that manufacturing is on the mend after languishing the past three years.

December was the second straight month with more unemployed workers than job openings — a stark contrast to the situation just three years earlier, when there were twice as many job openings as seekers. While vacancies are rising in construction and manufacturing, openings for white-collar workers tumbled at year-end.

Europe

German factory orders unexpectedly rose at the fastest pace in two years, supporting expectations of a recovery in the key manufacturing sector. A rebound in industrial activity is seen as crucial for a sustainable recovery in Europe’s largest economy, which only narrowly avoided a triple-dip recession in 2025.

French inflation unexpectedly eased to a five-year low, staying well short of the ECB’s 2 per cent target as energy prices fell. French inflation has been an outlier among the euro zone’s biggest economies — with price gains in the bloc as a whole running close to 2 per cent.

Asia

Apartment prices in Seoul have now risen for 52 consecutive weeks, according to Korea Real Estate Board. The rally has defied repeated attempts by successive governments to cool the market with steps including tighter lending rules, extending pressure on would-be buyers.

India’s finance minister unveiled a relatively cautious budget on Sunday, focusing on economic stability in the face of rising global risks. Analysts saw the budget as providing a measure of predictability that investors needed in uncertain times.

China’s economy stumbled into the new year, bolstering the case for Beijing to ramp up policy support in coming weeks as strong exports failed to offset weak domestic demand.

Emerging Markets

Chile’s economic activity bounced back in December in a report published days after the central bank held its interest rate at the lowest level since 2022 and said temporary factors had dragged on growth.

Mexico’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged, pausing an easing cycle that started nearly two years ago as core inflation hovers just above the upper limit of the tolerance range.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

Published on February 7, 2026

A suspect oil tanker intercepted by the Indian Coast Guard during a sea-air operation busting an international oil-smuggling racket, about 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai. The vessel is being escorted to Mumbai for further legal action. (PTI Photo)(PTI02_07_2026_000085B)
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The Indian Coast Guard has busted an international oil cargo smuggling syndicate in a mid-sea operation, intercepting three vessels involved in the illicit trade in international waters, the maritime security agency said on Saturday.

The operation was carried out on February 5-6, approximately 100 nautical miles west of Mumbai, following intelligence gathered through technology-enabled maritime surveillance systems.

The syndicate had devised a sophisticated modus operandi to smuggle large quantities of low-cost oil and oil-based cargo sourced from conflict-ridden regions, according to a Coast Guard release.

The cargo was transferred mid-sea to motor tankers in international waters, allowing the operators to evade customs duties owed to coastal States, including India.

The racket was allegedly run through a network of handlers operating from multiple countries, coordinating the sale and transfer of oil cargo between seagoing vessels. Initial investigations indicate that the vessels frequently changed their identity to evade detection by law enforcement agencies.

The Coast Guard detected a motor tanker engaged in suspicious activity within the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), triggering a detailed digital investigation into the vessel’s movements. Subsequent data pattern analysis revealed two additional vessels closing in on the tanker, raising suspicion of an ongoing illicit ship-to-ship transfer, the release added.

Specialist teams from the ICG boarded the three vessels on February 5. Through sustained rummaging operations, verification of documents, corroboration of electronic data onboard and interrogation of crew members, the Coast Guard established the chain of events and confirmed the criminal modus operandi.

The vessels have been apprehended and are likely to be escorted to Mumbai for further investigation. They will be handed over to Indian Customs and other law enforcement agencies for necessary legal action, according to the release.

The owners of the vessels are based in foreign countries, officials said.

The Coast Guard stated that the operation, initiated through digital surveillance and enforced by its expanding maritime presence, underlined India’s role as a net provider of maritime security and an enforcer of the international rules-based order at sea.

Published on February 7, 2026

Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Saturday reported 24 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) rise in net profit for the quarter ended December at ₹21,028 crore, led by stable growth in core income.

The lender’s net interest income (NII) grew 9 per cent on year to ₹45,190 crore, while net interest margin stood at 2.99 per cent, up 2 basis points (bps) on quarter but lower 2 bps on year. Other income stood at ₹18,359 crore, down 8 per cent on-year, largely because the bank received one-time gain of ₹4,593 crore from it’s partial stake sale in YES Bank in Q2FY25.

Gross advances grew 15 per cent y-o-y to ₹46.83 lakh crore in Q3, while deposits rose 9 per cent y-o-y to ₹57.01 lakh crore.  

(This is a developing story, please check back for updates)

Published on February 7, 2026