NEW DELHI, Sept 17 Reuters India39;s merchandise trade deficit in August widened to a tenmonth high of 29.65 billion after gold imports surged while exports fell, dragged down by climbing shipping costs and sluggish global demand.

Economists had expected the country39;s August trade deficit to be 23 billion, according to a Reuters poll. The deficit stood at 23.5 billion in the previous month.

Exports are facing huge challenges on current global circumstances, Trade Secretary Sunil Barthwal told reporters, in regard to the monthly trade data.

Rising shipping costs and a slowdown in China coupled with recessionary trends in Europe and the US were also impacting exports, he said.

Outbound shipments from the world39;s fifthlargest economy fell 9.3 yearonyear, for the second month in a row, to 34.71 billion last month, data showed, while imports increased by 3.3 to 64.36 billion.

Monthly gold imports in August surged more than three times to 10.06 billion compared to the previous month, partly due to an increase in domestic demand, a senior commerce ministry official said.

In value terms, August gold imports were the highest since March 2021, when they had touched 8.5 billion, according to Reuters calculations.

Gold imports through official channels have also gone up after a cut in the import tariff to 6 from 15 in the budget in July, discouraging gold smuggling, the official said.

Services exports in August were estimated at 30.69 billion, and imports at 15.70…