February trade deficit narrows to $9.60 bn as gold and oil imports fall

A marginal 2.44 per cent increase in exports, as well as lower imports of gold and petroleum products in February, significantly narrowed the country’s trade deficit to $9.6 billion, according to data released by the commerce ministry Friday.

India’s merchandise exports rose to $26.67 billion in February from $26.03 per cent in the year-ago month mainly on account of higher shipments in sectors such as pharmaceutical, engineering and electronics.

Imports declined by 5.4 per cent to $36.26 billion in the last month, narrowing the trade deficit to $9.6 billion. The gap between imports and exports was $12.3 billion in February 2018 and $14.73 billion in January 2019.