India's exports rise 22%; imports grow at 35% in February; check details

India's exports grew by 22 percent in February but imports grew even more sharply at 35 percent led by sharp rise in the crude bill.

Export performance 22 percent year on year (YoY) is very good but if you compare to January, it is lower by about USD 1-1.5 billion. Imports are up 35 percent, it is touching USD 55 billion, that is a worry. It is not entirely fueled by oil. This crude bill doesn’t reflect the rising crude prices because these are cargos booked earlier. February gold imports at about UDS 4.5 billion is less than what it was year ago but is doubled than what it was in January 2022.

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The trade deficit has come in for the month of February at USD 21.2 billion – this compares with USD 13 billion a year ago and last month January nearly USD 18 billion. The problem is it has been above USD 20 billion for the last six months. The key worries for the economy are monthly merchandise trade deficit has now become over USD 20 billion for the last six months and the monthly deficit is over USD 20 billion even before the crude rally and even before the real export disruption which is going to be felt in the current month.