Trade Deficit

The trade deficit covers goods only, so it is narrower than the current account, which adds services, income and transfers — and in India that distinction is large, because services exports and remittances offset much of the goods gap. A deficit is not inherently bad: importing capital goods to build productive capacity is different from importing consumption. India's is dominated by crude oil, gold and electronics, which makes it highly sensitive to the crude price. Monthly figures are volatile and are best read as a trend rather than individually.