India’s merchandise exports fell 10.3% to $34.98 billion in May, while imports contracted at a slower 6.6% rate to $57.1 billion, lifting the trade deficit to a five-month high of $22.1 billion.
This is the sixth time in the last eight months that goods exports have declined year-on-year, although May’s decline was lower than the 12.6% fall recorded in April.
However, May’s exports were just 0.8% over April’s six-month low for outbound shipments’ value. Imports, on the other hand, spurted 13.8% sequentially in May from April’s 15-month low figure, which has been revised upward slightly to $50.15 billion from the $49.9 billion estimated earlier.
