India’s Current Account Deficit Narrows to $5.2 Billion in August, RBI Data Shows
According to preliminary data from the Reserve Bank of India, India's current account deficit in August 2026 was $5.2 billion. This is lower than last year. However, it increased to $18.3 billion in the April-August 2026 period. A reduction in the trade deficit and a surplus in services trade contributed to the improvement in August. Let's explore this in detail.
As per the provisional figures released by RBI on Thursday, the current account deficit of India stood at $5.2 billion in August this year, from $6.1 billion last year. This improvement is attributed to the fall in the trade deficit and rise in the surplus of services trade. But the deficit widened to $18.3 billion during the April to August period of 2026.
The net deficit of the goods trade account was $26.6 billion in August. It was lower from $27.6 billion in August last year. The merchandise exports increased to $44.7 billion from $35.1 billion last year. The merchandise imports were $71.3 billion from $62.7 billion last year. The surplus of the services trade increased to $16.5 billion from $15.6 billion last year. The services export increased from $31.2 billion to $35.5 billion. The services import increased from $15.6 billion to $18.9 billion. The net transfers, including remittances, were $12.8 billion from $12.2 billion last year. The net deficit on the income account increased from $6.3 billion to $8 billion.
The current account deficit widened to $18.3 billion during April-August 2026, compared to $12.8 billion in the same period last year. The merchandise trade deficit widened to $146 billion. It was $124.7 billion a year ago. The services trade surplus increased to $85.8 billion, up from $79.9 billion a year ago. Net transfers also increased to $66.8 billion, up from $55.6 billion a year ago.
