India's current account surplus rises to USD 19.8B in Q1

Mumbai: The country’s current account surplus rose to USD 19.8 billion or 3.9 per cent of GDP in the June quarter as merchandise imports declined amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Reserve Bank said on Wednesday.

The current account surplus stood at USD 0.6 billion or 0.1 per cent of GDP in the March quarter while there was a current account deficit of USD 15 billion or 2.1 per cent of GDP in the year-ago period.

“The surplus in the current account in Q1 of 2020-21 was on account of a sharp contraction in the trade deficit to USD 10.0 billion due to steeper decline in merchandise imports relative to exports on a year-on-year basis,” Reserve Bank of India said.