India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to a 4-month high of USD 19.1 bn in Apr-24 vis-a-vis USD 15.6 bn in Mar-24
Download ReportQuantEco Research || Apr-24 Merchandise Trade - Holding up despite geopolitical risks
India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to a 4-month high of USD 19.1 bn in Apr-24 vis-a-vis USD 15.6 bn in Mar-24. The sequential widening of trade deficit is predominantly on account of items like Machinery and Chemical products. The marginal deterioration in deficit on account of Gems & Jewellery was compensated by improvement in Petroleum deficit. Notwithstanding the ongoing disruption to global merchandise trade on account of geopolitical disturbance in the Middle East region, India’s export performance has held up. This could be reflective of the impact of higher international commodity prices along with resilience in global demand. We maintain our estimate of FY24 current account deficit at 0.8% of GDP (with likelihood of a marginally lower print). For FY25, we continue to forecast current account deficit at 1.0% of GDP..