Leading brokerage firm once again analyzed that Business resumption activity continued its upward journey and reached a new high, much above the pre-pandemic levels for the week ended August 29, a Japanese brokerage said on Monday.

The Nomura India Business Resumption Index rose to 102.7 for the week ending 29 August from 101.3 in the prior week, as per the brokerage. The index, which compared business activity with the pre-pandemic levels of March 2020, had fallen steeply during the two waves of infections, which were accompanied by lockdowns.

 Nomura said the index increased by 5.6 percentage points in August 2021, after 17.1 pp in July and 15 pp in June. For the week ended August 29, Google retail and recreation and Apple driving indices rose by 0.6 pp and 10 pp, respectively, although workplace mobility surprisingly fell by 3.7 percentage points. Power demand rose by 0.1 percent as compared to the previous week, while the labour participation rate inched up to 40.8 percent from 40 percent.

There is, however, a mixed set of news on new infections, it said, pointing out that the 7-day Moving Average of cases rose by 9,200 from last week to 41,000, although this deterioration was led by Kerala. It warned that a potential third wave "cannot be ruled out" given the impending festive season. 

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