Exports Fall 12.66 Percent in August, Trade Deficit Narrows to $6.77 Billion

Contracting for the sixth straight month, India’s exports slipped 12.66 per cent to USD 22.7 billion in August, on account of decline in the shipments of petroleum, leather, engineering goods and gems and jewellery items, according to the government data released on Tuesday. The country’s imports too declined 26 per cent to USD 29.47 billion in August, leaving a trade deficit of USD 6.77 billion, compared to a shortfall of USD 13.86 billion in the same month last year, as per the data.

Oil imports declined by 41.62 per cent to USD 6.42 billion in the month under review. Gold imports jumped to USD 3.7 billion in August this year as against USD 1.36 billion in August 2019.

During the April-August period, exports declined by 26.65 per cent to USD 97.66 billion, while imports fell 43.73 per cent to USD 118.38 billion. Trade deficit during the period stood at USD 20.72 billion.