INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
overseas Indians sent more money home.
CAD, a major part of the external sector balance sheet, improved to 2.4% of GDP in the quarter
through June from 2.5% a year earlier
In absolute terms, it widened to $15.8 billion from $15 billion, preliminary numbers released by the Reserve Bank of India showed.
Overall,
terms, CAD increased due to a higher trade deficit at $45.7 billion compared with $41.9 billion a year earlier
Invisibles comprising services trade balance and private transfer rose 11% to $29.9 billion from $26.9 billion.
Private transfer receipts,
mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, rose 16.9% to $18.8 billion, the RBI said.
Unless commodity prices recede
appreciably from the prevalent levels, Icra expects the current account deficit to widen to $72-77 billion (2.8% of GDP) in fiscal 2019,
posing a key macroeconomic concern in the ongoing tumult in emerging market currencies, Nayar said.
In capital account, portfolio investment
recorded a net outflow of $8.1billion in Q1, compared with an inflow of $12.5 billion a year earlier, on account of net sales in both debt
Net receipts on nonresident deposits amounted to $3.5 billion, compared with $1.2 billion in the first quarter of last fiscal year.
Capital
account surplus was lower at $5.2 billion during the quarter compared with $27 billion in the corresponding quarter last year.
