New Delhi, November 18 (IANS). India’s services exports in October this year stood at $38.5 billion, an increase of 11 percent compared to goods exports. During this period, export of goods stood at 34.4 billion dollars. This information was given in a report on Tuesday.
Services sector exports grew by an average of $37.5 billion in the September-October period, compared with $33 billion in the first eight months of this year, HSBC Global Investment Research reported. During this period, the services trade surplus stood at an all-time high of $20 billion.
As was expected, in October this year, gold imports registered an increase of 58 percent on an annual basis. In the month of Diwali, the import bill of gold jumped by more than $5 billion compared to the previous month to $14.7 billion.
Meanwhile, major imports including non-oil and non-gold declined. Whereas categories like electronics, machinery, machine tools recorded sharp growth.
The report said that due to the cut in GST rate, there was an increase in electronics imports.
According to the report, India’s merchandise trade deficit increased to $ 41.7 billion in October this month, which was recorded at $ 32.2 billion in September. This is the highest level ever. After seasonal adjustment, the trade deficit in October was recorded at $33.4 billion, which was $31.1 billion in the previous month in September.
The report also said that exports to America declined for the second consecutive month. In September it was -12 percent and in October it was -8.6. At the same time, growth in exports to non-US destinations lost its pace, which had earlier grown at a rapid pace of 11 percent on an annual basis in September.
–IANS
SKT/