India’s Trade Deficit in June Rose to $26.1 Billion as Imports Register Massive Jump

India's merchandise trade deficit registered a record jump to $26.18 billion in June this year as imports increased by 57.5 percent to $66.31 billion and exports rose by 23.5 percent to $40.13 billion, according to Ministry of Commerce data released on Thursday.

The latest figures are higher than the government's initial estimates of $25.6 billion.

The monthly trade deficit has been rising in recent months, having been recorded at $20.4 billion in April and $23.3 billion in May this year, due to growing imports, which almost doubled to $21.3 billion in June, as compared to $10.6 billion a year ago.

Petroleum imports constitute the largest chunk of India's imports bill. Despite a much higher share of discounted crude coming from Russia, the impact of higher global petroleum prices has continued to cost India.

Imports of coal, coke, and briquettes also skyrocketed by an annual 260 percent, coming in at a staggering $6.47 billion in June, compared with $1.8 billion in June 2021.

Apart from this, gold imports also shot up by a massive 182 percent. Imports of the yellow metal rose to $2.7 billion in June, up from $969 million in the same month last year.