16.9.17

Current account deficit @ 2.4%


The country's current account deficit-the shortfall caused by the gap between imports and exports -has widened sharply to 2.4% of GDP during the quarter ended June 2017. This is the widest gap since June 2013 when the rupee had come under severe pressure. The balance of payments for the April-June quarter stood at $11.4 billion as against $6.7 billion in the year-ago period on the back of foreign inflows.

The CAD was $14.3 billion, which amounts to 2.4% of the country's GDP. The surge in imports has resulted in the first-quarter CAD being almost as much as the $15 billion for the whole of FY17.

The deficit would have been worse had it not been for a healthy 15% increase in the services trade surplus, and a modest increase in secondary income inflows. 

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