India’s trade deficit widens in April as import costs rise

[NEW DELHI] India’s trade gap widened in April, as the nation’s import bill rose amid a spike in global oil prices due to the Middle East conflict.

The gap between exports and imports stood at US$28.4 billion in April, data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed on Friday (May 15).

That was higher than the US$26 billion deficit forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey. The gap narrowed to US$20.6 billion in March.

Inbound shipments rose 10 per cent in April to US$71.9 billion from the year before, while outbound shipments stood at US$43.6 billion, up 13.8 per cent.

A wider deficit will put further pressure on the currency that is Asia’s worst performer so far in 2026.

India is the world’s third-largest importer of oil and heavily reliant on energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway effectively blocked for more than two months because of the Iran war. 

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Asean Intelligence

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To shield the economy, the government has announced emergency steps, including raising retail fuel prices and tightening gold imports to check foreign-exchange outflows and support the rupee. BLOOMBERG