India: Exports and imports both decrease in October
Merchandise exports dipped 1.1% in October from the same month a year earlier after dropping 6.6% in September, amounting to a total value of USD 26.4 billion. Merchandise imports decreased 16.3% in October after dropping 13.8% in September, amounting to a total value of USD 37.4 billion. A drop in imports of petroleum and other fuels, in addition to fewer transport equipment purchases from abroad, resulted in a more pronounced decline in imports in October.
The merchandise trade deficit amounted to USD 11.0 billion in October, narrowing from the USD 18.0 billion deficit in the same month a year earlier but widening from the USD 10.9 billion in September. The 12-month trailing sum of the trade deficit shrank to USD 159.7 billion in October, down from USD 166.7 billion in September.