India's current account deficit widens, but balance of payments in surplus

Mumbai: India's current account deficit widened to $10.1 billion, or 2.1 per cent of gross domestic product, in the July-September quarter, higher than both the previous quarter and a year earlier, the Reserve Bank of India said on Monday. India's current account deficit had reached $5.2 billion, or 1.2 per cent of GDP a year earlier, the RBI said. In the previous quarter, the deficit had reached $7.8 billion, or 1.7 per cent of GDP.

But the balance of payment stood at a surplus of $6.9 billion during July-September, a fourth consecutive quarter of surplus, although that was narrower than the $11.2 billion surplus in the previous quarter. The trade deficit in the July-September period rose to $38.6 billion from $34.6 billion a quarter ago.