India's trade gap widens to a 12-month high as imports surge past exports

India's merchandise trade deficit—the gap between what it imports and exports—jumped to $39.88 billion in October, hitting a one-year high. This missed economists' forecasts and was significantly larger than September's $30.21 billion shortfall. While exports grew to a record $49.47 billion, imports surged even faster to $89.35 billion, driven largely by the nation's heavy dependence on imported oil amid volatile global energy markets.

The wider deficit reflects the challenge for Asia's third-largest economy as it navigates high import costs, particularly for energy. Although exports are growing steadily due to new trade deals and market diversification, the recent spike in imports, fueled by oil price fluctuations and Middle East tensions, has outpaced those gains. For now, India's trade balance remains heavily influenced by the volatile price of the crude it needs to buy from abroad.