India's trade gap hits unexpected high as imports surge past predictions
Latest trade numbers show Indiaʼs deficit reaching $27.14B‚ surpassing market predictions by a large margin. Strong export growth couldnt offset the rise in imports driven by gold and oil purchases
Indias trade gap jumped more than analysts thought last month reaching $27.14B (way above the predicted $22B mark). The numbers which came out yesterday show a big change from Septembers $20.78B deficit
The trade stats paint an interesting picture: exports went up by 17.26% hitting $39.2B while imports grew at a slower 3.88% reaching $66.34B. Trade Secretary Sunil Barthwal shared some good-news saying total exports might go above $800B by next March - thats a solid jump from last years $776.68B
Engineering and electronics are doing really well in foreign markets:
- Engineering stuff sold abroad reached $67.49B (April-Oct)
- Electronic goods hit $19.07B in same time
- Both sectors beat last years numbers
The seven-month trade gap (Apr-Oct) got bigger though - up 10% to $164.65B. Services trade is looking ok with exports at $34.02B; imports at $17B. Gold buying went up big-time to $7.13B (after govt cut import fees) and oil purchases jumped to $18.2B
