NEW DELHI, June 16 -- India's exporters shipped more goods abroad in May than in any month on record, and it still was not enough. A bigger bill for the crude oil and gold the country buys from the rest of the world swallowed the gain, and then some.

Merchandise exports reached $45.2 billion, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry reported on Sunday, an 18 percent rise from a year earlier and the highest single-month figure the country has logged. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal described it as one of the strongest monthly export prints India has produced, a line the ministry was quick to circulate as evidence that outbound trade is holding up even as tariff threats and softer demand rattle much of the rest of the world.

Imports moved ...