India's July preliminary trade deficit widens to $31 billion

India's July trade deficit widened to $31.02 billion, pushed by a rise in crude oil and coal imports, from $10.63 billion a year earlier, a government official said on Tuesday.

July's merchandise imports rose to $66.26 billion, while exports rose at a slower pace to $35.24 billion, B.V.R Subrahmanyam, India's commerce secretary, told reporters while sharing preliminary data compiled by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.