Gold imports explode India’s trade deficit

India’s trade deficit widened more than 70% to $17.8 billion in April on a 10% increase in imports, overshadowing a slight improvement in exports, according to government trade data.

The import surge has been driven by gold purchases in spite of the Indian government’s recent bullion import taxes.

Indian “gold and silver imports grew by 138% in April on a year-on-year basis, from $3.1 billion last year to $7.5 billion this year, led by falling prices and festival demand,” reported the Economic Times Tuesday.

 

Sources: The Wall Street Journal; The Economic Times