Trade snippets

Exports have contracted for the seventh straight month in November. Provisional numbers released showed exports had contracted 4.2% during the month, compared with the year-ago period, to $22.3 billion. Imports rose 6.4% to $41.5 billion, leading to a trade deficit of $19.3 billion, just short of the record $21 billion in October.
Policymakers are worried the trend of slipping exports and rising imports will reverse the gains from the recent improvement in the country’s external balances.
Trade deficit in the first eight months of the fiscal stood at $129 billion, appearing on track to overtake last fiscal year’s $185 billion.
Overall imports rose on the back of higher crude oil purchases. Oil imports increased 16.77% in November to $14.52 billion while non-oil imports rose 1.5% to $26.66 billion.
The rupee closed at 54.26 to a dollar, against 54.49 the previous day, because of inflows related to initial public offers open on the bourses.
The government attributed the decline in exports to continued shrinking demand from the West, a major market for Indian goods, and a slowdown in orders from Asia including the 10-member Asean.
Analysts said the falling exports to “promising markets” and the rise in oil imports vis-à-vis non-oil imports were indications of a worsening economic situation.
The share of Asian countries including Asean in India’s trade basket fell to 44% in November this year from 50.3% in the year-ago month.
Exports to the US, Latin America, North Africa and West Asia, however, recorded an increase of 20% during the month, pushing up their share in total exports to 48% from 40% a year ago.
High crude oil imports have pushed the import bill to $318.7 billion for April-November 2012, while exports were just $189.2 billion, leading to a trade deficit of $129 billion.