Contracting for the fifth straight month, India's exports slipped 10.21 per cent to $23.64 billion in July, on account of decline in the shipments of petroleum, leather and gems and jewellery items, according to the government data released on Friday.

The country's imports too dipped 28.4 per cent to $28.47 billion in July, leaving a trade deficit of $4.83 billion, compared to a shortfall of $13.43 billion in the same month last year, as per the data.

The outward shipments in July, however, recovered from a steeper decline of 60.28 per cent in April, 36.47 per cent in May, and 12.41 per cent in June.

Oil imports declined by 31.97 per cent to $6.53 billion in the month under review. Gold imports grew by 4.17 per cent to $1.8 billion.

During the April-July period, exports declined by 30.21 per cent to $74.96 billion, while imports fell 46.7 per cent to $88.91 billion. Trade deficit during the period stood at $13.95 billion.