Indian exports contracted marginally in February for the first time in seven months, though a steep fall in imports, especially non-oil imports, helped narrow the trade deficit.
According to data released by the commerce ministry on Tuesday, while exports contracted 3.7% to $25.6 billion as against $26.6 billion in the year-ago period, imports were down 17% to $33.8 billion from $40.7 billion.This helped in narrowing the trade deficit by 42% to $8.1 billion.
The government is hoping to control the current account deficit to less than $40 billion this fiscal year, mainly on the back of a sharp reduction in gold imports due to the high customs duty of 10%.In February, while oil imports were down 3% at 13.7 billion, non-oil imports fell 25% to $20.1 billion.
Source:- livemint.com
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