By Swati Bhat
MUMBAI, March 31 (Reuters) - India's current account
deficit shrank more than expected in the October-December
quarter on the back of a narrower goods trade deficit alongside
robust services exports and remittances, data from the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday.
In absolute terms, the current account deficit was $18.2 billion in the third quarter of fiscal year 2022/23
compared with $22.2 billion last year. As a percentage of GDP it stood at 2.2% in the quarter.
The current account deficit for the preceding,
July-September, quarter was revised downwards to $30.9 billion
or 3.7% of GDP from $36.4 billion or 4.4% earlier due to
downward adjustment in customs data, the RBI said.
The goods trade deficit in the December quarter narrowed to
$72.7 billion compared with $78.3 billion in the preceding
quarter, the central bank said.
"With a considerable compression in the average trade
deficit in Jan-Feb 2023 relative to the previous three months,
we expect the size of the CAD to recede further to around $10-12
billion in Q4 FY2023," Aditi Nayar, chief economist at rating
agency ICRA said.
"Based on this, we project the FY2023 CAD at $77-80 billion
(-2.3% of GDP), which is quite contained as compared to the
levels that were being feared in mid 2022," she added.
The median forecast of 22 economists polled by Reuters
between March 16-23 projected a CAD of $23.0 billion for Q3FY23,
or 2.7% of GDP.
The RBI said services exports reported growth of 24.5% on
year in the quarter, driven by rising exports of software,
business and travel services.
Private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances
by Indians employed overseas, rose by 31.7% to $30.8 billion
from a year earlier.
The country's balance of payments recorded a
surplus of $11.1 billion compared to a $0.5 billion surplus in
the same quarter a year earlier.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
India's shrinking current account balance India's current account balance shrinks ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Swati Bhat
Additional reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Frank Jack
Daniel)
+91-22-69217812; Reuters Messaging:
swati.bhat.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.