Govt pegs FY19 current account deficit at 2% of GDP on slide in oil prices

Rating agencies and research firms have so far said the FY19 CAD would be much higher than 2017-18, which was 1.9 per cent of GDP

With global crude oil prices slumping to below $50 a barrel just months after crossing $86, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is now confident that the current account deficit (CAD) for 2018-19 (FY19) can be contained at about 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Earlier, the government had estimated the CAD would be 2.8 per cent of GDP. Both of these are internal estimates.

“When the oil prices were at their peak, it appeared that the CAD for FY19 was heading for somewhere around 2.8 per cent of GDP. Now, since the decline, the current trajectory appears to