NEW DELHI : India is on course for a rare current-account surplus as the coronavirus pandemic roils demand for imports, according to Barclays Plc.
The bank’s current-account tracker points to a small deficit of $3 billion in 1Q 2020, followed by successive “unwelcome" surpluses, mirroring subdued economic activity, analysts led by Rahul Bajoria, its Mumbai-based senior economist, wrote in a note. “While low oil prices are serving as a tailwind for the economy, we think the bigger impact on the current account balance will come from reduced demand for both oil and non-oil imports," wrote Bajoria and Shreya Sodhani.