Export surges, import declines; trade deficit remains flat in July

The trade data for the month of July which was to be released on August,12 has been put forth by the trade ministry. According to the provisional data, trade ministry reported a surge in exports to US$25.83 billion, an increase of 11.64% in comparison to the previous month. The exports have been estimated to rise in the wake of increasing demand from regions including ASEAN, Far-East and Africa.

Import of precious metals including gold and silver declined from US$ 4.4 billion in the corresponding period last year to levels of US$2.9 billion in July. The decline of 6.2% in imports during the month of July which stood at US$38.1 billion is chiefly attributable to government steps towards curbing excessive gold imports. Further, though exports witnessed an upward trend, trade deficit remained almost flat at US$12.27 billion as against the trade deficit of US$12.24 billion for the month of June. The unchanged figures of trade deficit are continually putting pressure on the current account deficit as well as falling domestic currency.

Oil imports also registered a decline of 8% in the month of July reaching US$12.7 billion. However, for the first four months of the current fiscal year, oil imports witnessed a surge of 2.65% at US$54.5 billion. On the whole for the period from April-July, exports and imports registered a surge of 1.72% and 2.82% respectively to reach US$98.2 billion and US$160.7 billion.

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