New Delhi, Sept. 16 -- India's merchandise trade deficit remained elevated at USD 26.5 billion in August 2025, despite narrowing modestly from USD 27.4 billion in July, according to a report by Nuvama Institutional Equities.

The firm noted that while the headline number improved marginally, the underlying trends show continued stress in core trade segments.

The ex-oil trade deficit widened further to USD 17.7 billion in August from USD 16.1 billion a month earlier. Similarly, the deficit excluding oil and gold also stayed high at USD 14.6 billion. Gold imports nearly doubled the deficit in that segment to USD 3.1 billion, while the oil deficit eased to USD 8.8 billion from USD 11.2 billion in July.

Nuvama highlighted that electronics i...