India’s exports fell 24.43 percent in November to $20 billion from $26.5 billion a year ago amid a global demand slowdown and plunging commodity prices, government data showed.
Exports shrank for the twelfth consecutive month and imports declined by 30.26 percent to $29.79 billion from $42.72 billion a year ago, leaving a trade deficit of $9.78 billion for the month. The drop in November exports was the steepest in the past couple of years.
The free fall in imports was led by low crude oil prices and subdued imports of gold, coal and fertilizers. While non-oil imports fell to $23.3 billion versus $31 billion in November last year, oil imports fell 44.9 percent to $6.4 billion compared with $11.6 billion in the corresponding month a year ago.
“The standalone merchandise export data for November 2015 should be viewed with caution but not alarm. The data may be distorted due to the shift in the festive calendar and the lower number of working days in the month,” Aditi Nayar, senior economist of ICRA, said.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com