Trade deficit in oil up 67% in H1 of FY19 due to drop in petro exports

According to the latest estimates by the petroleum ministry, India imported $67 billion while it exported $20.4 billion

It’s not just the rising oil import bill which should worry the government but also the fall in petroleum exports that should be a cause for concern. 

The latest government data shows that during the first six months of the financial year, trade deficit in oil already touched $46.6 billion, up 67 per cent from 27.9 billion during the same period in 2017-18. This is mainly because of a drop in petroleum exports. 

Interestingly, oil trade accounted for 49 per cent of India’s trade deficit of $94.3 billion during the April-September quarter. According to the latest estimates by the petroleum ministry, India