The low crude oil prices in the three months to June this year has affected both imports and exports of petroleum products. While exports contracted around 16% on-year on Q1FY26, imports too contracted 4.4% during the same period. The average crude price of Indian basket was $67.2 a barrel in Q1FY26 as compared to $85.2 a barrel in the same period last year.
Exports from labour-intensive textile sector grew 1.4% on-year in Q1FY26, even lower than the overall exports growth of 1.9% during the quarter. However, shipments of electronic goods grew 47% in Q1FY26, but these exports had a large import content (imports up 22.2%).
Shipments to the United States surged 21.5% on-year during the first three months of this financial year as exporters utilised President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause period for imposing country-specific reciprocal tariffs till July 9. While imports of gold contracted 10.4% on year in Q1FY26 because of high prices of the metal, imports of engineering goods rose 12% on-year.