Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Dec 15: India’s trade deficit narrowed to a five-month low in November, aided by a sharp fall in gold imports and a pickup in exports to the United States despite punitive tariffs, official data released on Monday showed.
Exports rose to $38.13 billion in November from $34.48 billion in October, while imports declined sharply to $62.66 billion from $76.06 billion in the previous month, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This resulted in a trade deficit of $24.53 billion, significantly lower than October’s record high of $41.7 billion.
The improvement was attributed to reduced imports of gold, oil and coal, along with stronger exports to the US, which increased 10% month-on-month to $6.92 billion. India’s exports to the US had earlier taken a hit after President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods.
Data also showed that India’s services exports stood at $35.86 billion in November, while imports were $17.96 billion, resulting in a services trade surplus of $17.9 billion.
Exports in November were up 19.4% year-on-year and marked the highest level since June 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the growth was supported by India’s push into new markets, including China. “India has held fort on US exports despite tariffs,” he told reporters.
Exports to the US rose more than 21% year-on-year to $6.92 billion in November, compared to $5.71 billion a year earlier. In October, US-bound shipments had declined nearly 9% year-on-year amid tariff pressures.
The data comes as India-US trade negotiations continue to move slowly. Last week, President Trump spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the fourth time since the tariffs came into effect in August. India remains one of the few major economies yet to finalise a trade deal with the US, a delay that has added pressure on the rupee, which slipped to a fresh low against the dollar on Monday.
Washington has been pressing New Delhi to lower tariffs and non-tariff barriers on American goods and open its markets further to US agricultural products, including soybean and grain sorghum.