India, July 14 -- India's exports rose 15.5 per cent year-on-year to $40.41 billion in June, while the trade deficit widened to a five-month high of $30.43 billion due to a surge in imports, driven mainly by higher crude oil prices. While crude oil imports jumped 40 per cent to $19.32 billion during the month, the country's overall merchandise imports in June went up by about 31 per cent to $70.84 billion. During the first half of June, oil prices were at around $90 per barrel. The prices have now come down to below $80 per barrel. Inbound shipments of precious metals, electronics and machinery too pushed the country's import bill during the last month. Also Read - Aditya Birla to buy Shell-backed Sprng Energy in $1.8 billion deal Electronics, machinery and gold imports grew by 58.77 per cent to $13.4 billion, 30.9 per cent to $5.8 billion, and 7 per cent to about $2 billion, respectively, in June. During April-June this fiscal, exports increased 15.92 per cent to $129.32 billion, while imports rose 19.89 per cent to $216.18 billion. Merchandise trade deficit during April-June 2026-27 was $86.86 billion as compared to $68.75 billion in the same period last year. The trade gap in June 2025 was $19.1 billion and $34.68 billion in January this year. Gold imports in the first quarter of this fiscal year rose to $11.01 billion from $7.49 billion in April-June last year. Also Read - 'India's defence capex to rise to Rs 2.8 trillion by FY30 on indigenisation, export growth' Briefing the media on the data, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said India's exports are registering a healthy growth in areas such as electronics, iron ore, handicrafts, meat and dairy products. The main countries where India's exports recorded a jump in shipments include South Africa, Singapore, China, Oman and Malaysia. India's exports to the West Asian region have "evened out" in June, as it has recorded a 7.29 per cent year-on-year growth to $5 billion, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said. The shipments to the region had declined in March due to the US-Iran conflict, but improved in April and further in May. Also Read - 'FII flows to return gradually, NIFTY to rise 10% to 26,500 pts by June 2027' "Our exports to the Middle East have evened out," he told reporters here. The shipments in June 2025 were $4.67 billion. The country's exports to the UAE rose 3.57 per cent to $2.7 billion, but shipments to Saudi Arabia declined by 4.42 per cent to $768.56 million. On the other hand, imports from the UAE and Oman have registered a positive growth. But it dipped by 29.75 per cent from Saudi Arabia. Indian exporters are using three ports (Duqm, Sohar and Salalah) in Oman to push exports to the region. The US-Iran conflict has severely impacted the movement of ships carrying cargoes in international waters, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz. Also Read - HCLTech Q1 profit up over 20% to '4,624 crore India normally exports goods worth about $6 billion every month to the region. Meanwhile, India's exports to the US dipped 1.21 per cent to $8.17 billion in June, while imports grew 33.86 per cent year-on-year to $5.5 billion, according to government data. In June 2025, India's exports to the US stood at $8.27 billion, while imports were reported at $4.11 billion. During April-June 2026-27, the country's merchandise exports declined marginally by 0.06 per cent to $25.46 billion, while imports increased 23.82 per cent to $16.65 billion. India and the US are negotiating a trade pact. The US has imposed an additional 10 per cent temporary tariffs for 150 days from February 24.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.