NEW DELHI, June 16 -- India's merchandise exports in May jumped 18% to $45.20 billion as compared to $38.30 in the same month last year despite geopolitical headwinds, commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Monday, expecting better performance ahead with the truce in West Asia. Although goods imports in May this year also surged by over 20.6% to $73.41 billion as against $60.86 billion in May 2025 because of a spike in energy prices and higher gold imports, the merchandise trade deficit narrowed marginally to $28.21 billion this month compared to $28.38 billion in April 2026, according to government data. India, which imports over 88% crude oil it processes and meets 60% of its cooking gas consumption through imports, saw a spike in ener...