India’s merchandise trade deficit in August was wider than expected and stood at USD 24.16 billion, according to a Reuters calculation based on export and import data released by the government on Friday.
Economists expected the August trade deficit to be at USD 21 billion, according to a Reuters poll.
India’s merchandise exports stood at USD 34.48 billion, while imports were USD 58.64 billion in August, government data showed. In the previous month, merchandise exports were USD 32.25 billion, while imports stood at USD 52.92 billion.
Services exports in August were USD 26.39 billion, while imports were USD 13.86 billion. In July, services exports were USD 27.17 billion and imports were USD 14.85 billion.
For the April-August period, services and merchandise exports fell about 5 per cent year-on-year to USD 306.33 billion, while imports fell about 10 per cent to USD 343.81 billion.
