India’s trade gap widens most in seven months in Jan

Bloomberg

India’s trade deficit unexpectedly widened in January, as exports contracted for a sixth straight month while the decline in imports eased.
The gap between exports and imports was at $15.2 billion last month, compared with $11.25 billion in December, data released by the Commerce Ministry showed. That’s the widest gap since June and compares with the median estimate of an $11 billion deficit in a Bloomberg survey of 22 economists.
Imports declined by 0.75% from a year ago to $41.4 billion, compared with an 8.8% drop in December, while exports fell 1.7% to $26 billion, against a 1.8% decline the previous month.
Oil imports rose 15.3% from a year earlier to $13 billion, while gold imports fell 31.5% to $1.6 billion.
A downturn in economic growth has affected demand for imports in India in recent months.
, while exports have taken a hit after the US-China trade war disrupted global demand.
Global trade is further expected to take a knock from the coronavirus outbreak. Indian importers are already feeling the heat as factories of their suppliers in China are shut