The Current Account Deficit (CAD) was USD 30.9 billion or 3.7 per cent of the GDP in the second quarter of 2022-23 and at USD 22.2 billion or 2.7 per cent of the GDP in the December quarter of 2021-22.
"Underlying the lower current account deficit in Q3:2022-23 was a narrowing of merchandise trade deficit to USD 72.7 billion from USD 78.3 billion in Q2:2022-23, coupled with robust services and private transfer receipts," RBI said.
Services exports reported a growth of 24.5 per cent on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis on the back of rising exports of software, business and travel services. Net services receipts increased both sequentially and on a year-on-year basis.
In the December quarter, net foreign direct investment decreased to USD 2.1 billion from USD 4.6 billion in the year-ago period.
Net foreign portfolio investment recorded inflows of USD 4.6 billion in the December quarter as against an outflow of USD 5.8 billion in the third quarter of 2021-22.
RBI said net outgo from the primary income account, mainly reflecting investment income payments, increased to USD 12.7 billion from USD 11.5 billion in the year-ago period.
Private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, amounted to USD 30.8 billion in the December quarter, an increase of 31.7 per cent from their level a year ago.
Non-resident deposits recorded net inflows of USD 2.6 billion in the third quarter of the current fiscal as compared to net inflows of USD 1.3 billion in the year-ago period.
According to