Led by gold imports, May trade deficit jumps to 30-month high

Spike in gold imports swells trade gap to $13.84 bn; exports up by 8% at $24 bn

Exports for the month of May went up 8.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY), a ninth straight month of growth. However, the rate of rise was still lower than April, when exports grew 19.4 per cent. 

The combined trade deficit for April and May, first two months of 2017-18, jumped a staggering 143 per cent YoY, showed data issued by the commerce ministry on Thursday. Trade deficit for May has been the highest for the last 30 months.

Imports for May grew 33 per cent; for April-May combined, they grew 40 per cent. Total imports rose mainly on the back of petroleum products,