By Shivangi Acharya
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India’s merchandise trade deficit in October widened more than expected to $27.14 billion, driven by a surge in imports, trade data released by the government on Thursday showed.
Economists had expected the country’s October trade deficit to be $22 billion, according to a Reuters poll, compared to $20.78 billion in the previous month.
India’s merchandise exports in October stood at $39.2 billion, while imports were $66.34 billion, government data showed. In the previous month, merchandise exports were $34.58 billion and imports stood at $55.36 billion.
In October, services exports were estimated at $34.02 billion, and imports at $17 billion. In September, services exports were estimated at $30.61 billion, and imports at $16.32 billion.
However, with current trends in trade, India’s total exports are expected to rise above $800 billion in the fiscal year ending in March 2025, Trade Secretary Sunil Barthwal told reporters after the release of the trade numbers.
India’s total exports touched $776.68 billion last fiscal year, according to government estimates, almost at the same level as a year ago.
In October, gold imports rose to $7.13 billion, from $4.39 billion in the previous month, the data showed. Gold importshad increased to $10.06 billion in August, the highest since March 2021, after the government slashed the import tariff on the yellow metal in July.
