India’s June trade deficit hits a 5-year high of $16.61 billion
14 Jul 2018
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India's trade deficit hit a 61-month high of $16.61 billion in June on the back of a sharp rise in crude oil bill, despite sustained growth in shipments of engineering and pharmaceutical products that boosted exports by 17.57 per cent.
The trade deficit increased from $14.62 billion in May, with a spike in imports, primarily fuelled by a jump in crude oil import bill, which rose more than 56 per cent to $12.72 billion in June, up from $11.5 billion a month back.
For the first quarter of the current fiscal (April-June 2018-19) exports from the country stood at $82.47 billion while imports climbed to $127.41 billion, registering a trade deficit of $44.94 billion.
India’s exports during June 2018 were valued at $27.70 billion (Rs1,87,800 crore) compared to $23.56 billion (Rs1,51,844.56 crore) during June 2017, an increase of 23.68 per cent.
Cumulative value of exports during April-June 2018-19 stood at $82.47 billion (Rs5,52,781.61crore) against $72.21 billion (Rs4,65,472.04 crore) in April-June 2017-18, a growth of 14.21per cent in dollar terms and an 18.76 per cent increase in rupee terms.
Exports other than petroleum products and gem and jewellery during June 2018 were valued at $20.13 billion compared to $17.48 billion during June 2017- a growth of 15.13 per cent. Such exports during April-June 2018-19 were valued at $59.86 billion compared to $52.71 billion for the corresponding period in 2017-18, an increase of 13.56 per cent.
Imports into the country in May 2018 rose 21.31 per cent hitting a five-month high compared to the 14.85 per cent rise seen in May. Total imports stood at $44.3 billion in June compared to $ 43.48 billion in May. The spike in import bill is set to hit new highs, rising from 1.9 per cent of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2017-18 and 2.1 per cent in the third quarter of the previous fiscal.
Cumulative value of imports for the period April-June 2018-19 stood at $127.41 billion (Rs8,54,096.98 crore) against $112.26 billion (Rs7,23,631.11 crore) in April-June 2017-18, showing a growth of 13.49 per cent in dollar terms and an 18.03 per cent growth in rupee terms year-on-year.
