India’s Trade Gap Narrows More Than Estimated in December

(Bloomberg) --

India’s trade deficit narrowed more than estimated, as imports declined for a seventh straight month.

The gap between exports and imports was at $11.25 billion in December, compared with $12.1 billion in November, data released Wednesday by the Commerce Ministry show. That was narrower than the median estimate of $11.6 billion in a Bloomberg survey of 22 economists.

Key Insights

• Imports declined by 8.8% from a year ago to $38.6 billion, compared with a 12.7% drop in November, while exports decreased 1.8% to $27.36 billion, against a 0.3% decline the previous month
• Manufacturing industry signaled a modestly brighter outlook toward the end of 2019, with the purchasing managers index rising to 52.7 in December from 51.2 a month ago
• That still doesn’t signal a favorable growth outlook, with the statistics office forecasting the economy to expand 5% in the year through March -- the slowest pace since 2009

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• Oil imports dropped 0.8% from a year earlier to $10.7 billion, while gold imports fell 3.9% to $2.47 billion
• To read the full statement on trade numbers, click here

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