India’s current account posted a surplus for the first time in four quarters in the January-March period, helped by higher services exports, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday.
The current account surplus stood at $13.5 billion, or 1.3 per cent of GDP, in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2024-2025 versus the polled estimate of $8.5 billion, or 0.9 per cent of GDP.
The surplus compares with a deficit of $11.3 billion or 1.1 per cent of GDP in the preceding quarter, the RBI said in a statement. The current account had registered a surplus of $4.6 billion or 0.5 per cent of GDP in the same quarter a year ago.
For the full fiscal year 2024-25, the current account deficit stood at $23.3 billion, or 0.6 per cent of GDP, against $26 billion, or 0.7 per cent of GDP in the previous year, on the back of higher net invisible receipts.
“Apart from persistent strength in services exports, a spike in remittances this year to a record high of $123 billion was a key driver,” said Kanika Pasricha, chief economic adviser at Union Bank of India.
Pasricha expects full-year current account to log a deficit of 1.2 per cent of GDP amid global trade tensions, with trade deals being “on close watch.”
India’s net services receipts increased to $53.3 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter from $42.7 billion a year earlier, contributing to the surplus, the RBI said.
“Services exports have risen on a YoY basis in major categories such as business services and computer services,” the central bank said. Personal transfer receipts, which are mainly remittances by Indians employed overseas, increased to $33.9 billion from $31.3 billion a year ago.