Screen printing fabric ink at a garment factory in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. (Photographer: Taylor Weidman/Bloomberg)
Paintmakers stare at a lost summer as the lockdown to contain the novel coronavirus hurts demand, offsetting the benefit of cheaper crude-linked raw materials.Sales of paints and waterproofing products usually rise in the first quarter of a financial year, peaking ahead of the monsoon. This April-June, companies hoped to recoup lost ground after an extended monsoon weighed down sales in October-December and demand remained subdued in...