India''s July trade gap widens by 25 per cent to $5.01 billion
03 Sep 2007
Mumbai: The country''s trade deficit widened by 25 per cent in July from a year earlier amidst a 20.4 per cent rise in imports at $17.51 billion and an 18.5 per cent rise in exports at $12.49 billion.
While cheaper imports were easily sucked into the rapidly growing economy, exports showed some resilience because of a firmer domestic currency, data showed.
The result was a rise in trade deficit to $5.01 billion in July - up from $4.00 billion a year earlier but narrower than $7.33 billion in June this year.
The trade deficit for the first four months of 2007-08 was $25.62 billion, an increase of more than 60 per cent from $15.84 billion a year earlier.
During
April-July, the first four months of fiscal year 2007-08, exports rose 18.2 per
cent from a year earlier to $46.8 billion, and imports grew 30.7 per cent to $72.42
billion.
Last month, a commerce ministry official said the government was hopeful
that the country could meet its export target of $160 billion for 2007-08 even
if the rupee remained at 40-41 per dollar.
The rupee climbed to a nine-year high of 40.20 per dollar in July 2007, raising concerns that exporters would lose competitiveness.
The
government also announced a $320 million relief package for exporters hit by the
currency rise, including a cut in bank lending rates and an increase in duty refund
rates.
.webp)
