India’s Jan merchandise trade deficit hits 1-year low of $17.75B

NEW DELHI  – India’s merchandise trade deficit in January hit its lowest in a year at $17.75 billion, down from $23.76 billion in the previous month, according to a Reuters calculation based on export and import data released by the government on Wednesday.

January merchandise exports were $32.91 billion, compared with $34.48 billion in December, while imports fell to $50.66 billion from $58.24 billion, data showed.

The trade deficit for April-January widened to $232.95 billion from $153.78 billion a year ago.

Among key exports during this period, petroleum products, electronic goods and chemicals continued to be higher than a year ago but weaker global demand resulted in a drop in outbound shipments of cotton, engineering goods, iron ore, and gems and jewellery.

Within imports, petroleum and crude products saw the sharpest increase with a more than 53% jump, followed by coal and electronic goods. However, imports of gold were down over 11%