India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to USD 41.68 billion in October from USD 32.15 billion in September, the Commerce Ministry said.

In October, India’s exports fell by 11.8 per cent to USD 34.38 billion, according to the data released by the Commerce Ministry. However, the imports rose sharply by 16.63 per cent to USD 76.06 billion.

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The surge in imports was driven by a spike in gold and silver shipments. Gold imports alone soared to USD 14.72 billion in October, compared with USD 4.92 billion during the same period last year.

As per the government data, in October, gold imports registered a growth of 199.2 per cent to USD 14.7 billion against USD 4.9 billion in the year-ago period, while exports to the US slipped about 9 per cent to USD 6.3 billion last month compa

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