India's November merchandise deficit narrows by 2.84% YoY to $20.58 billion

Gold imports witnessed a significant decrease of 52.1 percent compared to October 2023, contributing to a noteworthy reduction in India's trade deficit. However, for the period of April to November, imports recorded a year-on-year increase of 3.5 percent.

According to the latest ministry data, India's goods trade deficit narrowed to $20.58 billion in November, compared to $22.06 billion in the same month the previous year. Notably, the sequential reduction in the deficit amounted to a larger $9.33 billion.

In November, there was a 2.84 percent year-on-year decline in the export of goods, while imports experienced a more pronounced contraction of 4.35 percent during the corresponding period.

From April to November, there was a 6.5 percent year-on-year decline in merchandise exports, totalling $278.8 billion, while imports contracted by 8.67 percent to reach $445.15 billion within the same timeframe.

The commerce ministry anticipates that services exports will maintain their robust performance, with an estimated 6.5 percent year-on-year increase in November 2023.

According to the data, China remains the primary source nation for imports for New Delhi, with Russia and the United States following as the second and third top import partners, respectively.