Exports end 18-month slide, grow 1.27%; imports dip 7.33%

Snapping an 18-month downward spiral, India's exports in June rose 1.27 per cent to USD 22.57 billion. Rising exports and decline in imports also brought down the trade deficit in June to USD 8.11 billion as against USD 10.82 billion in the year-ago month.

India's exports in June 2015 stood at USD 22.28 billion. Exports have been falling since December 2014 due to weak global demand and slide in oil prices.

As per the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, imports in June were at USD 30.68 billion, down 7.33 per cent from USD 33.11 billion in the year-ago month. Imports of petroleum, crude and related products were down 16.42 per cent in June while that of coal, coke and briquettes shrunk by about 13 per cent.

In value terms, imports of fertilisers too were down by 22.77 per cent at USD 712.36 million. Gold import was recorded at USD 1.20 billion in June, a decline of 38.54 over the year-ago period. On the export front, there was increase in exports of organic and inorganic chemicals (14.36 per cent), engineering goods (0.88 per cent), and plastic and linoleum (10.6 per cent). Cumulative value of merchandise exports for the period April-June 2016-17 was USD 65.31 billion as against USD 66.69 billion, a decline of 2.07 per cent. Overall imports in the first quarter of the fiscal stood at USD 84.54 billion, down 14.53 per cent year-on-year.

The trade deficit for April-June was estimated at USD 19.23 billion, lower than the deficit of USD 32.225 billion in the corresponding period last fiscal. In case of services, exports (receipts) during May were valued at USD 13.46 billion, registering a growth of 4.28 per cent, and imports stood at USD 7.92 billion, a growth of 10.29 per cent.

Services export rose by 13.4 per cent to USD 13.46 billion in May this year, the Reserve Bank data showed on Friday. The services export in May 2015 was at USD 11.87 billion.

In the preceding month of April, the export stood at USD 12.91 billion. Also, services import in May 2016 increased by 25.4 per cent at USD 7.9 billion compared to USD 6.32 billion in the year-ago month.

Services import in preceding month (April 2016) was tad down at USD 7.18 billion. The figures are based on RBI data on International Trade in Services for May 2016.

The services sector contributes about 55 per cent to the country's gross domestic product. The RBI data is provisional and undergoes revision when the Balance of Payments (BoP) data is released on a quarterly basis.