India's merchandise trade deficit rises to a four-month high of $19.1 billion in April

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trade deficit stood at $19.1 billion during April 2024, up from $14.44 billion during April 2023. The goods trade deficit had stood at $15.6 billion in March 2024. The April figure fell short of economists' expectations of the merchandise deficit coming in at $17.23 billion, according to a Reuters poll.

Exports stood at $34.99 billion in April, up slightly from the $34.62 billion reported in the same period of the previous year. During March 2024, merchandise exports stood at $41.68 billion. A senior commerce ministry official, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said both exports and imports have had seasonal impacts, doing well in some months and staying relatively muted during others.

According to the official, April saw such a seasonal impact on exports. The official added that the latest merchandise exports, imports and deficit data should be compared with April 2023, and not with March 2024. To be sure, Indian exports have been impacted by a slowdown in global growth.

The tightening of interest rates due to nagging inflation, especially in advanced western economies, has led to a slowdown in business, investment and trade. A slow pace of pickup in global trade during 2024, following a contraction in 2023, driven by the lingering effects of high energy prices and inflation, also impacted exports. Geopolitical challenges like conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine and the Red Sea crisis have also impacted global trade.

The total value of merchandise imports stood at $54.09 billion in April, higher than the $49.06 billion imports recorded during the same period of the previous year. During March 2024, merchandise imports stood at $57.28 billion. In April gold imports more than doubled to $3.11 billion, compared