India’s trade deficit likely to widen in FY19; know here the reason
India’s trade deficit will widen to a four-year high of 6.4 percent of GDP in FY19 ($178.1 billion), according to a India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) report. In FY18, merchandise trade deficit stood at $156.8 billion (6.0 percent of GDP) on account of a rise in oil and gold imports
Widening trade deficit, escalation in commodity prices, particularly oil, coupled with the expectation of the US Federal Reserve raising its rate further, is exerting pressure on the rupee, the report said. Image source: Reuters