India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to USD 20.1 bn in Apr-22 from USD 18.5 bn in Mar-22

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May 04, 2022

Apr-22 Merchandise Trade -Deficit widens moderately

India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to USD 20.1 bn in Apr-22 from USD 18.5 bn in Mar-22. While the widening is in line with seasonality, it nevertheless appears relatively restrained compared to the build-up in commodity prices since the beginning of Russia-Ukraine conflict. Going forward, we expect the commodity price effect to dominate. This along with improvement in domestic demand on near complete unlocking of the economy and progress on vaccination would further widen trade deficit. We continue to expect India’s current account deficit at USD 85 bn in FY23 vs. an estimated level of USD 44 bn in FY22.