The total dominance of the US dollar in India’s foreign trade comes out starkly in the statistics put out by RBI on the currency-wise invoicing pattern of exports and imports.
Over 88 per cent of exports and 86 per cent of imports are invoiced in US dollars. This has been the pattern for the past five years.
The euro, once touted as a major alternative to the dollar, comes a poor second — a mere 7 per cent of exports and 11 per cent of imports invoiced in that currency. This, despite the fact that India trades more with the European Union than with the US.