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The South Korean government was moving on Wednesday towards ordering more truckers to return to work as their national strike entered its 14th day.

But the administration has so far failed to achieve a breakthrough in negotiations with the truckers, whose strike to extend an income-guarantee programme has widely obstructed shipments from the country, the world's sixth-biggest exporter.

Cabinet would meet on Thursday to discuss ordering drivers who serve the petrochemical and steel industries to get back to work, the Finance Ministry said.

Last month, the government ordered drivers serving the cement industry to return to work.

The strike has disrupted supply chains and, according to the government, in its first 12 days delayed delivery of goods worth 3.5 trillion won ($2.65 billion).

Despatches of petrochemicals for domestic delivery were down to 65% of normal levels, the transport ministry said on Wednesday, while steel shipments for all customers were running at 47%.

Petrochemical companies are considering cutting production as early as next weekend due to shortages of raw material or space for storing inventory that cannot be despatched.

Despatches of cement have bounced back to 93% of normal levels from 10% earlier in the strike, thanks to the government telling drivers to return to work, according to the Korea Cement Association lobby group.

Although they are getting limited road freight service, ports are operating.

Suffering from soaring fuel costs, as many as 25,000 striking truckers are calling for a temporary minimum-pay scheme for their industry to be made permanent.

On Wednesday, some said loss of income in the strike was becoming difficult for drivers to bear.

"Every one of us made enormous efforts to stop our trucks," Lee Sung-chul, a striking cement trailer driver, told a meeting organised by a member of parliament on Wednesday.

"But the strike has gone on for more than 10 days. Given family finances and car instalments, some non-union drivers have started work again," said Lee, himself getting calls from his nervous wife to return to work.

Another striking trucker, Lee Geum-sang, who drives a fuel tanker, said he felt time was not on the truckers' side.

"It is very frustrating. I am afraid many drivers on the strike won't make it until next week," he said. (Reuters)

India's central bank raised its key policy rate by 35 basis points to 6.25% on Wednesday, the highest in over three years and its fifth straight increase, and vowed there will be no let up in its fight to tame high inflation.

While there have been signs recently that price pressures may be moderating, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said the main risk was that inflation could remain pervasive and elevated, reinforcing market views the central bank could hike rates again in coming months.

The monetary policy committee (MPC), comprising three members from the RBI and three external members, raised the key lending rate or the repo rate (INREPO=ECI) to 6.25% -- the highest since April 2019. Five of the six members voted in favour of the increase.

A strong two-thirds majority in a Reuters analysts poll had predicted a 35 basis point (bps) increase, smaller than its last three hikes of 50 bps each, and said it was still too soon for the central bank to take its eye off inflation, which has stayed above the upper end of the RBI's 2-6% tolerance band all year.

India's annual retail inflation eased to a three-month low of 6.77% in October, helped by a slower rise in food prices and a higher base effect, strengthening bets on smaller rate increases by the RBI going ahead.

Das said the worst of this year's inflationary spike "is behind us" but warned there was no room for complacency.

"The MPC was of the view that further calibrated monetary policy action was warranted to keep inflation expectations anchored, break core inflation persistence and contain second round effects," Das said as he announced the monetary policy committee's decision.

"The focus on inflation control continues. There will be no let up in our efforts to bring inflation to more manageable levels," he added.

Michael Patra, RBI deputy governor in-charge of monetary policy, underlined the importance of the smaller rate hike than at previous meetings, but said the central bank was closely watching for second round effects of inflation.

"After continuous 50 bps increases, it has now moderated. That tells you of a shift," Patra told reporters.

"The worst of inflation is over but the moderation of inflation will be very grudging, very uneven. So we must shepherd inflation first firmly into the tolerance band and then to the target."

'SLIGHTLY MORE HAWKISH'

Investors expect at least one more rate hike in the current cycle at the next meeting.

"The statement was slightly more hawkish than perhaps expected by markets, with no indication that the central bank is coming to the end of its rate hiking cycle for now," Sakshi Gupta, principal economist at HDFC Bank said.

Other market watchers agreed.

"We continue to expect the focus of MPC to remain in a watchful mode as uncertainties on inflation settle down. We see a possibility of another 25 bps rate hike before a prolonged pause," Upasna Bhardwaj, chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank said.

The MPC also maintained its stance on "withdrawal of accommodation", with four out of six members voting in favour as the committee continues to focus on pulling out high levels of cash from the banking system without stunting growth.

The MPC lowered its GDP growth projection for financial year 2022/23 to 6.8% from 7% earlier, while keeping its retail inflation forecast steady at 6.7%.

"Growth in India remains resilient in the international environment. A 6.8% growth (rate) is robust," Das said.

India posted annual economic growth of 6.3% in its July-September quarter, slightly better than expected but less than half the 13.5% growth in the previous three months as distortions caused by COVID-19 lockdowns faded in Asia's third-largest economy.

The Indian rupee stayed higher against the dollar after the policy decision, while government bond yields also remained elevated.

The rupee was at 82.50, up from 82.53 before the decision and 82.62 at previous close, while the benchmark bond yield was at 7.2824%, after rising to its highest in last two weeks and up from 7.2113% earlier. It had ended at 7.2486% on Tuesday.

The Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was down 0.27% at 18,592.10, as of 01:45 p.m IST, and the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) declined 0.2% to 62,503.73. (Reuters)

Three of New Zealand's nine naval ships are sitting idle in port as higher civilian salaries lure personnel out of the military, the country's Defence Force said on Wednesday, even as tensions in the Pacific rise between China and the U.S. and its allies.

The HMNZS Wellington, an offshore patrol vessel, headed back to New Zealand early from what was meant to be a three-month deployment in the Pacific and was taken out of operation in November because of shortages, the New Zealand Defence Force said.

The Wellington is the third ship to be put into "care and custody", with two other vessels - another offshore patrol vessel and a smaller patrol vessel for operating close to shore - pulled off the line and their crews reassigned last year. The vessels have crews of 24 to 42.

The bottom line is "workforce issues are impacting ship availability to deliver naval outputs," an August note from the Chief of the Defence Force Air Marshal Kevin Short to the Minister of Defence said. "Risks remain to Naval output delivery if attrition and hollowness cannot be addressed in a timely manner."

NZDF has just over 15,000 personnel, including civilian staff, and about 2,800 are in the Navy. The Defence Force said in May that it would spend 90 million New Zealand dollars ($57 million) over four years to raise the salaries of the lowest-paid workers. Officials hope personnel figures will significantly improve by 2026-2027.

Having so few ships available makes it harder for the navy to handle multiple challenges at once, a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) spokesperson said.

The problem is especially acute as the U.S., Japan, Australia and other countries in the region square off against China and strive for influence. New defence spending plans, driven by lessons learned from Russia's invasion of Japan, are also taking shape.

New Zealand, which spends roughly 1.5% its of GDP on defence, this year announced it would review its own defence policy in light of regional geopolitics and climate change. The review is not expected to be completed until 2024.

In July, after China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the Pacific region could manage security issues on its own.

The number of people leaving the defence force is at its highest level - the Navy attrition rate was about 16.5% in the year to November - in decades as staff have quit for jobs in the private sector, where salaries have risen due to a tight labour market.

New Zealand's Defence Force is also dealing with ageing equipment and a large number of personnel being assigned to border quarantine facilities.

Minister of Defence Peeni Henare acknowledged in an email that staff losses were hurting the Defence Force, but said the government was committed to rebuilding it.

"There is more still to do," he said.

The country is replacing its fleet of C-130 cargo planes and P-3 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), and the first of four Boeing P-8A Poseidon MPA is due to arrive this month. Plans for a new military vessel built for Southern Ocean and Antarctic conditions were shelved this year. (Reuters)

Key regional airlines said on Wednesday they expected to continue scheduled flights with New Zealand, which is beginning to ration jet fuel after a recent shipment failed government tests.

Airlines are being told that jet fuel supplies at the country's largest airport in Auckland will be throttled to 75% of planned allocations, said Cath O'Brien, an official of a national panel of airline representatives.

But national carrier Air New Zealand (AIR.NZ) and Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) ruled out immediate schedule changes, as did an official of another major regional airline, who sought anonymity in the absence of authorisation to speak with media.

"We know how important it is to get our customers around our network in the lead-up to Christmas and our team are working hard to ensure we will continue," said David Morgan, chief safety officer for the national carrier.

No schedule changes were currently being considered, he added.

A spokesperson for Singapore Airlines said it was working closely with authorities to understand if operations would be affected, adding, "There are currently no changes to our scheduled operations."

Routine tests on Monday uncovered conductivity levels above regulatory thresholds, said Z Energy, the importer supplying about 40% of New Zealand's transport fuels, although no concerns had been flagged by previous tests en route and on arrival.

Z Energy is weighing options, such as ordering a replacement shipment, a company spokesperson told Reuters.

Most of the suspect fuel will be sent to an overseas refinery for reprocessing. New Zealand's only refinery at Marsden Point, north of Auckland, was converted into an import-only terminal in April.

The next scheduled shipment, due to arrive on Dec. 12, will be ready for use by Dec. 18.

O'Brien said regional airlines would mitigate the impact of reduced supplies by loading extra fuel at destinations such as Australia, though longer-haul airlines would need to consider refuelling stops or trading off cargo for more fuel.

"So while it's possible, it's not simple and it's not cheap," added O'Brien, the executive director of the Board of Airline Representatives of New Zealand. (Reuters)