(You can now subscribe to our(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channelIndia's trade deficit widened to $20.98 billion on an annual basis in June from $19.19 billion in the same month last year, data from the Commerce Ministry showed on Monday.
The deficit narrowed on a monthly basis from $23.8 billion in May, driven by the import boost.A Reuters poll had pegged the trade deficit figure at $21.5 billion.Merchandise exports in June this year increased by 2.6 per cent year-on-year to $35.2 billion while imports rose by 5 per cent to $56.18 billion.
"In such a situation it's a positive sign that our exports are growing (9 per cent growth in May) and ...this also reflects that the world wants to do trade and investments with India.
We are confident that this year we will have over USD 800 billion exports and it will be a historic record," Goyal had said.The same expectation was echoed by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on Monday.
During the first quarter of 2024-25, the exports of goods and services stood at about USD 200 billion, he said.
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
India's trade deficit widened to $20.98 billion on an annual basis in June from $19.19 billion in the same month last year, data from the Commerce Ministry showed on Monday. The deficit narrowed on a monthly basis from $23.8 billion in May, driven by the import boost.A Reuters poll had pegged the trade deficit figure at $21.5 billion.Merchandise exports in June this year increased by 2.6 per cent year-on-year to $35.2 billion while imports rose by 5 per cent to $56.18 billion. Merchandise exports and imports stood at $34.32 billion and $53.51 billion in June 2023, respectively.In the previous month, merchandise exports rose by 9.1 per cent to $38.13 billion, despite the trade deficit widening to $23.78 billion, the highest in seven months, according to government data.India registered a current account surplus of $5.7 billion, equivalent to 0.6 per cent of GDP, in the March quarter, marking the first surplus in ten quarters. In the year-ago period, a deficit of USD 1.3 billion (0.2 per cent of GDP) was recorded, while the previous quarter saw a deficit of USD 8.7 billion (1 per cent of GDP).Improvement in the current account balance is attributed to several factors, including a narrowing merchandise trade deficit, an increased services trade surplus, and a rise in remittances.Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal recently expressed confidence in India's goods and services exports crossing $800 billion this fiscal despite global challenges."In such a situation it's a positive sign that our exports are growing (9 per cent growth in May) and ...this also reflects that the world wants to do trade and investments with India. We are confident that this year we will have over USD 800 billion exports and it will be a historic record," Goyal had said.The same expectation was echoed by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on Monday. During the first quarter of 2024-25, the exports of goods and services stood at about USD 200 billion, he said.
