NEW DELHI, Jan 15 Reuters India39;s merchandise trade deficit in December stood at 21.94 billion, according to a Reuters calculation based on export and import data released by the government on Wednesday.

Economists had expected the country39;s December trade deficit to be 27.33 billion, according to a Reuters poll.

Merchandise exports were at 38.01 billion in December, while imports stood at 59.95 billion.

After an unprecedented miscalculation, India39;s trade ministry last week scrambled to correct monthly import figures for precious metals including gold from April to November.

The trade ministry has not yet released the revised figures for November, which had overcounted gold imports by 5 billion.

As part of the correction, India sharply lowered its AprilNovember 2024 gold import estimate by 11.7 billion.

According to a Reuters calculation, the AprilNovember trade deficit was revised down by 13.59 billion to 188.83 billion.

Reporting by Shivangi Acharya; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala

Source Reuters