Exports fall 11.8% in Oct, trade deficit widens to $41.68 billion

According to government data released on Monday, the country’s imports jumped 16.63 per cent to $76.06 billion

- OUR CORRESPONDENT

India’s exports contracted 11.8 per cent to $34.38 billion in October on account of the impact of high tariffs by the US, while the trade deficit widened to a record high of $41.68 billion mainly due to a jump in gold imports.

According to government data released on Monday, the country’s imports jumped 16.63 per cent to $76.06 billion due to high inbound shipments of the yellow metal, silver, cotton raw/ waste, fertiliser, and sulphur.

In September also, the trade gap widened to $31.15 billion, the highest in over a year.

While gold imports rose about 200 per cent to $14.72 billion, silver rose 528.71 per cent to $2.71 billion during October.

Crude oil imports dipped to $14.8 billion in October from $18.9 billion in the same month last year.