Economists Expect Some Respite But Not Much

Non-oil exports rose 0.5% on an annual basis and were lower 5.3% month-on-month. Exports of engineering goods, gems and jewellery, organic and inorganic chemicals also dropped, while that of pharmaceuticals was stable. Much of the fall until last month, Bhandari said, has been led by weaker volumes, likely reflecting slowing global demand.

Also, according to Nomura, the lacklustre performance is a sign of weakening global demand, while import demand remains broad-based, reflecting robust domestic demand as well as continued price pressures.

Overall, imports rose 43.6% year-on-year to $66.3 billion in July. Imports of coal, coke and briquettes eased but remained elevated. Month-on-month, imports fell 0.1%. Barring petroleum, they rose 0.3% over June.

Core imports, non-oil and non-gold imports, remained “high and sticky”, Bhandari said. Some of the core imports which have risen sharply this year are coal, electronics and machinery goods, she said.