Exports shrink for 3rd straight month; down 1.1% in Oct; imports fall 16.3%

Merchandise trade deficit remained relatively low at $11 billion after the $10.86-billion deficit in September

Lower receipts from processed petroleum exports and dragged down depressed global crude prices led to exports in October contracting for a third straight month.

The decline in exports stood at 1.1 per cent in October, lower than the 6.57 per cent fall in September. Outbound trade has contracted four of the first-seven months of the 2019-20 fiscal year. In the current financial year till October, cumulative exports stood at $ 186 billion, 2.2 per cent lower than the corresponding period in the last financial year. However, officials stressed that major sectors such as gems and jewellery, and engineering goods returning