As had been expected by analysts, India's current account deficit (CAD) jumped to nearly 5 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in the quarter ended June this year.

Recently released official data showed that the third-largest Asian economy's CAD jumped to 4.9 per cent of GDP (US$21.8 billion).

However, the official CAD figure is slightly better than economists' projections. Economists had predicted that CAD would likely cross the 5 per cent mark. Shubhada Rao, chief economist at private-sector lender YES Bank, had projected CAD at 5.3 per cent ($24 billion) of GDP for quarter under review.

In the three months ended March this year, the deficit had cooled off to 3.6 per cent of the country's GDP. In the first three months of the last financial year, the deficit was recorded at 4 per cent.

Most analysts blamed the combination of huge imports of gold and deterioration in the trade balance for the drastic jump in CAD.

Responding to the disheartening stats, the BSE Sensex slipped more than 347 points to hit a new three-week low of 19,320.73. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) shed nearly 98 points to 5,735.30.