The manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to a five-month low of 48.8, the Statistics Bureau said on Wednesday, while service sector activity was the slowest in four months

Asia stocks sink to two-month low, with Hong Kong down 2%, Sydney, Shanghai and the BSE Sensex all lower on Thursday. The Nikkei was the key outlier once again, rising nearly 0.4%.

Ties between Russia and China have reached an "unprecedented high", Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said during his trip to Beijing on Wednesday

In contrast to the rupee, other Asian currencies were mostly higher after US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell struck a moderately dovish stance

Indians have been asked to deposit or exchange their 2000-rupee notes by Sept 30, 2023; the move comes ahead of state and general elections in the country when cash usage spikes

The country’s central bank says it is closely watching the yuan after it broke through the 7-per-dollar level on a stumbling economic recovery and a dollar rally

The Chinese currency was flailing after poor data showed its economy’s recovery is running out of steam, dragging other currencies down with it

Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have given a boost to China's efforts to internationalise its currency, with a dramatic increase in its use in commodity and energy trade with Russia

The country, which already boasts the world’s biggest foreign currency reserves, saw its coffers boosted by $21 billion in April

The talks suspension is a blow for Indian importers of cheap oil and coal from Russia but Moscow was reluctant to hold rupees over the yuan or UAE dirham

The Reserve Bank of Australia, which has drawn criticism in recent weeks, stunned markets on Tuesday by hiking its cash rate by a further 25 basis points

Increasing use of the Chinese currency is expected to slowly create an alternative payment system - one that avoids the risk of US sanctions