Trade deficit shrinks 8% in June

India’s trade deficit narrowed by nearly 8% to $15.28 billion during the last month, as against $16.6 billion in June 2018, according to official data released on Monday.
In June 2019, merchandise exports fell nearly 10% to $25.01 billion as against $27.70 billion in the year-ago month, the Commerce Ministry data showed. In rupee terms, exports stood at Rs. 1,73,682.55 crore, down 7.52% from Rs. 1,87,800.20 crore in June 2018. “Department of Commerce is pro-actively pursuing an export promotion strategy involving conscious engagement with the EPCs and exporters to quickly address domestic and overseas constraints impacting exports… A special initiative is underway with respect to China and the U.S. in light of opportunities offered by their trade dispute,” an official release said. The data showed that merchandise imports too declined during the month under review from $44.30 billion to $40.29 billion, a fall of 9.06%. “The decline in exports in June 2019 is due in large part to a base effect of an extraordinarily good month in June 2018 impacting growth figures for June 2019. While average exports in June have been $22-23 billion since 2015-16, exports in June 2018 were relatively quite high at $27.70 billion,” the release said. It added that the negative growth is consistent with certain global trends, which have impacted India’s exports in recent months. The World Bank, in its Global Economic Prospects (June 2019), has projected weakening of global trade in 2019. Global trade is projected to grow at 2.6% this year – a full percentage point below their previous forecast. The major commodities which led to this decline were petroleum products, rice, cotton yarn/Fabrics/made-ups, gems and jewellery, ready-made garments, organic & inorganic chemicals, and Engineering goods.

Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-business/trade-deficit-shrinks-8-in-june/article28460451.ece

About ChinmayaIAS Academy - Current Affairs

Check Also

India’s Deep Ocean Mission (DOM)

India’s Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) is an initiative to explore and harness the resources of the …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Free Updates to Crack the Exam!
Subscribe to our Newsletter for free daily updates