Economics

India’s Animal Spirits Remain Fragile Despite Economy Reopening

  • Exports improve, as do services and manufacturing activity
  • GDP set to shrink 20% in April-June quarter, survey shows
A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks along a deserted Marine Drive in Mumbai, July 14.Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
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An improvement in India’s exports and business activity in June signaled the worst may be over for the economy, but the rebound probably wasn’t strong enough to prevent the biggest quarterly contraction on record.

Four of the eight high-frequency indicators compiled by Bloomberg News gained last month, two were unchanged and the rest deteriorated. The needle on a dial measuring so-called animal spirits remained static though, as the gauge uses three-month weighted average to smooth out volatility in the single-month readings.