Current account comes under pressure from oil, gold and coal imports

Global crude prices have started ballooning again, contributing significantly to widening of the trade deficit. In fact, the deficit expanded to a record high of $22.59 billion in September. Petroleum imports soared to $17.4 billion in September against $11.6 billion in the previous month.

The reasons for such a spike in petroleum imports is the hardening of international prices and increase in demand in the domestic markets, as Covid-induced lockdowns began easing. The global price for the Indian basket of oil was $73.13 a barrel this September, against $41.35 a year ago.

Gold imports have also been impacting the deficit in the recent past, even as inbound shipments declined to $5.1 billion in September from $6.7 billion in the previous