Brent crude was up by $1.40, or 1.70 percent, to $82.38 a barrel at 1044 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $78.98 a barrel, up $1.49, or nearly 2 percent higher. Both contracts were on track to post a second weekly gain.

Ahead of Thursday’s Autumn Statement, when he will update Parliament on the government’s budget measures, Jeremy Hunt said he was forced to make “very difficult decisions” in his attempt to curb inflation and put the economy back on an even keel.

Many of global economies are expected to slip into a recession in the next few months. While developing economies like India may not see a recession, growth will certainly take a beating and exports will come under pressure. How can we navigate this uncertain environment? What can businesses do and what will the future look like? CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan spoke to Thomas Loren Friedman, Pulitzer Winning Journalist and Columnist at the New York Times, and Uday Kotak, former CII President and MD and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank who are very keen watchers of the world economy.

The US visa processing is rebounding faster than projected and is expected to reach prepandemic levels in Fiscal Year 2023, the State Department has said, addressing the growing concern over backlog of visa applications from countries like India.