Current receipts financed 93.3 per cent of current payments in 1998-99 while the debt service ratio declined to 18 per cent from 19.1 per cent during the period says the Reserve Bank even as it voiced concern on the exports front.

"The impact of the reduction in exports was to some extent muted by the fact that import payments were contained mainly because of softening of international prices. Besides the continued buoyancy in the invisible receipts, in particular, the surge in software exports, technology related activities and worker's remmitances compensated for the sluggishness in merchandise export growth," the Reserve Banksaid.

Net capital inflows fell to $8.6 billion in 1998-99 from $9.8 billion in the preceding fiscal. Overall balance of payments recorded a surplus of $4.22 billion or 1 per cent of the GDP as against the $4.51 billion or 1.1 per cent in 1997-98, and $6.79 billion or 1.7 per cent of the GDP in 1996-97.

Oil imports declined by 21.2 per cent during 1998-99 from 18.7 per cent mainly on account of the fall in international oil prices while growth in non-oil imports decelerated to 6.3 per cent from 14.5 per cent in 1997-98.

Exports to north-American markets increased by 7.9 per cent, improving their share in the country's overall export basket to 23.2 per cent in 1998-99 from 20.7 per cent in the preceding fiscal.