India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to a one-year high of $39.88 billion in October, exceeding forecasts as higher oil imports, electronic shipments for export production, and a festive-season surge in gold purchases from overseas raised the foreign exchange outgo. The previous monthly high trade deficit was $42.58 billion recorded in October 2025. India’s merchandise exports surged 45% year-on-year to a record $49.47 billion in October, driven by a more than doubling of petroleum shipments and strong growth in engineering and electronics goods. Still, a 16.5% growth in imports to $89.35 billion precipitated the high trade deficit.