India's March merchandise trade deficit at Rs 1,30,170 cr

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New Delhi: India's merchandise trade deficit in March stood at Rs 1,30,170 crores ($15.6 billion), according to a Reuters calculation based on export and import data released by the government on Monday.

Economists had expected the March trade deficit to be $18.55 billion, according to a Reuters poll.

India's merchandise exports stood at $41.68 billion in March, while imports were $57.28 billion, the data showed.

In the previous month, merchandise exports were $41.40 billion, while imports were $60.11 billion.

In March, services exports were $28.54 billion, while imports were $15.84 billion. In February, services exports were $32.35 billion and imports were $15.39 billion.