New Delhi - India's exports contracted 11.8 per cent to $34.38 billion in October on account of the impact of high tariffs by the US, while the trade deficit widened to a record high of $41.68 billion, mainly due to a jump in gold imports.

According to government data released on Monday, the country's imports jumped 16.63 per cent to an all-time high of U$76.06 billion due to high inbound shipments of the yellow metal, silver, cotton raw/waste, fertiliser, and sulphur.

In September, the trade gap . . .