India logs USD 2.8 bn current account surplus in April-May: RBI data

Mumbai, Jul 15 (PTI) India recorded a current account surplus of USD 2.8 billion during April-May 2026, compared with a deficit of USD 4.1 billion in the corresponding period last year, mainly aided by higher inward remittances from abroad and a rise in services exports, RBI data showed on Wednesday. However, the country's overall balance of payments registered a deficit of USD 11 billion during the first two months of the current fiscal year, compared to a surplus of USD 5 billion in the same period last year, according to the data. The merchandise trade deficit widened to USD 55.9 billion during the first two months of 2026-27 from USD 49.7 billion during April-May last fiscal year. Imports rose to USD 146.5 billion during the period under review from USD 127.1 billion, while exports increased to USD 90.7 billion from USD 77.4 billion. According to the Reserve Bank's preliminary data on India's balance of payments (BoP) for May, net services receipts increased to USD 34.3 billion in April-May 2026 from USD 31.7 billion in the year-ago period. Services exports rose to USD 70.4 billion from USD 65.3 billion in April-May 2025. Net transfers, which include inward remittances from overseas, rose to USD 29.6 billion during April-May 2026 from USD 20 billion in the year-ago period. The data also showed that the net income outgo improved marginally to USD 5.2 billion from USD 6 billion. On the capital account side, net foreign direct investment stood at USD 6.5 billion during April-May 2026, up from USD 2.5 billion in the corresponding period last year. On the other hand, net foreign portfolio investment recorded a larger outflow of USD 12 billion compared to USD 0.8 billion a year ago. PTI NKD HVA