India May merchandise trade deficit rose faster than expected

NEW DELHI, June 15 (Reuters) - Indias merchandise trade deficit rose faster-than-expected in May, due to a fall in demand in developed countries, a top trade official said on Thursday.

The Asian economy reported a merchandise trade deficit of $22.12 billion, higher than $15.24 billion in April and a Reuters poll estimate of $17.26 billion.

For May, merchandise exports were $34.98 billion, while imports stood at $57.10 billion, the government said.

\“Theres a slowdown in many developed countries and there is a fall in their GDP growth rates also, consequent to that their import demand ... is quite low,\” Trade Secretary Sunil Barthwal said.

In May, the services trade surplus stood at $11.77 billion, with services exports at $25.30 billion and imports at $13.53 billion.

In the April-May period, the merchandise and services trade deficit stood at $13.28 billion compared with $20.56 billion in the same period last year, the data showed.