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India’s August Trade Deficit Narrows To $7.7 Billion, Imports Fall 14%

The lower trade deficit was due to the 14 percent fall in imports last month.

A gantry crane loads shipping containers onto a truck at the Kirshnapatnam Co. port in Kirshnapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)  
A gantry crane loads shipping containers onto a truck at the Kirshnapatnam Co. port in Kirshnapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)  

India’s trade deficit narrowed nearly 38 percent in August to $7.674 billion from $12.4 billion in the same month last year. The deficit stood at $7.761 billion in the previous month.

The lower trade deficit was due to the 14 percent fall in imports last month to$29.2 billion compared to the same month last year, data from the commerce ministry showed. Exports contracted marginally by 0.3 percent to $21.5 billion on a year-on-year basis.

During the month, oil imports fell 8.5 percent to $6.8 billion while non-oil imports fell 15.6 percent to $22.4 billion. Vegetable oil imports stood at $942.4 million, down 5.4 percent.

Gold imports fell 77.5 percent from a year ago to $1.12 billion.