NEW DELHI: A surge in gold imports that widened India’s trade deficit to a record in November and pushed the rupee to an all-time low was due to an error in calculation, Bloom­berg News reported on We­­d­nesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The report said officials double-counted gold shipments in warehouses following a change in methodology in July, leading to the error.

Gold imports could have been over-estimated by as much as 50 tons, or almost 30% of total imports of the precious metal that month, the Bloomberg report said, citing sources.

If an error is identified, the trade figures would likely be revised and could lead to some correction in the foreign-exchange rate, it added.

India’s government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The country’s merchandise trade deficit widened to a record $37.84 billion in November, data released by the commerce ministry showed, much higher than economists’ forecast of $23.9 billion, according to a Reuters poll.

Inbound shipments of gold climbed to a record high of $14.8 billion last month, more than doubling from $7.13 billion in Octo­ber, data showed.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2024