Services exports save the day for current account in Sep quarter

A rise in services exports helped narrow India's current account deficit (CAD) in the September quarter, although this marked the second consecutive quarterly deficit after hitting a surplus in the final three months of FY24.

- Gopika Gopakumar

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data released on Friday showed CAD during the quarter at $11.2 billion or 1.2% of GDP, compared with $11.3 billion or 1.3% of GDP a year earlier.

India had logged a CAD of $9.7 billion, or 1.1% of GDP, in April-June this year. In the three months prior to that—the fourth quarter of 2023-24 (January-March 2024)—India had registered its first current account surplus in about four years due to a narrowing in merchandise trade deficit.