Festive surge in gold imports drives India’s Oct. 2025 trade deficit up 141% to $21.8 billion

6 months ago 2
ARTICLE AD BOX
Gold imports grew astir   200% successful  October 2025 to $14.7 cardinal  from $4.9 cardinal  successful  October 2024. File.

Gold imports grew astir 200% successful October 2025 to $14.7 cardinal from $4.9 cardinal successful October 2024. File. | Photo Credit: Reuters

India’s commercialized shortage surged 141% successful October 2025 to $21.8 cardinal owed to surging imports, driven successful ample portion by a festival-related leap successful golden imports, and subdued merchandise exports, authoritative information showed.

India’s full exports successful October 2025 stood astatine $72.9 billion, down marginally from $73.4 cardinal successful October past year. India’s full imports jumped to $94.7 cardinal successful October this year, compared with $82.4 cardinal successful October 2024. As a result, the commercialized shortage grew to $21.8 cardinal successful October this twelvemonth from $9.05 cardinal past year.

“There are 2 things that person brought this summation successful the commercialized shortage about,” Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said astatine a property briefing. “The archetypal is golden and the different is silver. The summation successful golden imports has been phenomenal successful October contempt precise precocious planetary prices.” 

“In metallic also, the maturation has been phenomenal,” helium explained. “If you harvester these two, these relationship for the further commercialized deficit.”

Gold imports grew astir 200% successful October 2025 to $14.7 cardinal from $4.9 cardinal successful October 2024. In fact, golden imports successful October reversed the inclination that had been seen successful the April-September play of this fiscal year. 

That is, portion golden imports successful the April-September 2025 play were 8.7% little than successful the aforesaid play of the erstwhile year, the leap successful October meant that golden imports successful April-October 2025 were 21.4% higher than successful April-October 2024.

Similarly, metallic imports grew astir 530% successful October 2025 to $2.7 billion. 

“An uninterrupted emergence successful golden prices up of the festive play whitethorn person led to speculative request which whitethorn not prolong going ahead, perchance starring to immoderate cooling successful the import numbers successful the ensuing months,” Aditi Nayar, main economist astatine ICRA said. “Nevertheless, the non-oil, non-gold imports roseate by a important 12.4% year-on-year, led by fertilisers, machinery, physics goods, non-ferrous metals, and silver.”

Digging deeper into India’s full exports, the merchandise exports fell 11.8% to $34.4 cardinal successful October 2025, portion services exports grew 11.9% to $38.5 billion. 

On the imports side, merchandise imports grew 16.7% successful October 2025 to $76.1 cardinal and services imports grew 8.1% to $18.6 billion.

Published - November 17, 2025 07:18 p.m. IST

Read Entire Article