India's June trade deficit rises to $15.3B amid imports surge
India's trade deficit shot up to $15.3 billion in June, over four times higher than last year.
The main reasons were: India spent a lot more on importing oil, gold, and electronics, while exports just couldn't keep up.
Imports jumped 27% to $88.8 billion, but exports grew only 9.5%, reaching $73.4 billion.
Merchandise gap widens to $30.4B
Merchandise imports climbed by 31%, especially for oil and electronics, which pushed the merchandise trade gap to $30.4 billion, a big leap from last year.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal pointed to global tensions raising prices and more demand at home for gadgets and gold.
On the services side, export growth slowed down while imports rose faster, shrinking the services surplus by nearly 7%.
Still, there was one bright spot: total exports for April-June hit a record high across a wide range of products, even with all these challenges hanging over trade right now.