India's September merchandise trade deficit below forecast on lower gold imports
Repeats to additional subscribers; no changes to text
Sept trade deficit at $20.78 bln vs $25 bln forecast
Sept goods exports $34.58 bln vs $34.71 bln in August
Sept goods imports $55.36 bln vs $64.36 bln in August
By Shivangi Acharya
NEW DELHI, Oct 16 (Reuters) -India's merchandise trade deficit was narrower than expected in September, helped by a sharp sequential drop in gold imports, according to government data released on Wednesday.
The merchandise trade deficit was $20.78 billion last month, lower than economists' expectation of $25 billion, according to a Reuters poll.
The deficit had widened to a ten-month high of $29.65 billion in August.
Merchandise exports dropped to $34.58 billion in September from $34.71 billion in August. The fall in imports was much sharper, to $55.36 billion from $64.36 billion.
Gold imports were $4.39 billion in September, sharply lower than $10.06 billion in August.
"Last month's gold imports were a one-off, driven by high purchases to build inventory ahead of festivals and favourable prices," said a trade ministry official, who did not want to be named.
Services exports were an estimated $30.61 billion last month, while imports were $16.32 billion.
In August, services exports were $30.69 billion and imports were $15.70 billion.
Reporting by Shivangi Acharya; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Janane Venkatraman
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
