India’s trade deficit highest in 5 years

New Delhi, July 14 : India’s trade deficit widened to its highest in more than five years in June, the trade ministry said on Friday.

The deficit is claimed to have been caused by a surge in oil imports despite an increase in merchandise exports.

The trade deficit widened to $16.6 billion that surged 56.61 percent to $12.73 billion. In May the trade deficit stood at $14.62 billion the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement. India’s gold imports fell 2.8 percent year-on-year to $2.39 billion in June from a year ago, the statement said.