India Posts Smallest Trade Gap in 13 Months as Imports Fall

  • Inbound shipments fall 8.2% to $51.3 billion in February
  • High borrowing cost is denting demand at home and abroad

Imports were down 8.2% — the biggest decline in more than two years.

Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
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India’s goods trade deficit narrowed to a 13-month low in February as imports declined amid a demand slowdown in the economy.

The gap between exports and imports fell for a fourth straight month to $17.43 billion in February, India’s Trade Secretary Sunil Barthwal said at a press conference Wednesday. That’s lower than the $19.2 billion gap seen by economists in a Bloomberg survey and compares with a reading of $17.74 billion in January.