New Delhi, Aug. 13 -- India's merchandise exports rose 19.5% year-on-year to $44.24 billion in July from $37.02 billion a year earlier, marking the highest level for the month, commerce ministry data showed on Thursday.

For the April-July period, merchandise exports rose 17% to $173.78 billion from a year earlier. Merchandise imports grew faster, rising 19.27% to $292.38 billion. The merchandise trade deficit widened to $118.6 billion during April-July from $96.66 billion in the year-earlier period.

Including services, India's exports rose 13.16% to $316.42 billion during April-July from $279.63 billion a year earlier. Imports increased 17.28% to $365.85 billion. This resulted in an overall trade deficit of $49.43 billion, compared with...