Monsoon rains 18% below average in the week to June 27

India's crucial monsoon rains were 18% below average in the week to June 27, the weather office said on its website today, reflecting a lull phase over oilseed-growing areas of central India.

India's crucial monsoon rains were 18% below average in the week to June 27, the weather office said on its website on Thursday, reflecting a lull phase over oilseed-growing areas of central India.

The monsoon rains are important for farm output and economic growth as about 55% of the south Asian nation's arable land is rain-fed, and the farm sector accounts for about 15% of a nearly $2-trillion economy, Asia's third-biggest.

The rains had narrowed the deficit in the third week ending June 20 to 5% below average, after recording 36 and 50% below average rainfall in the first two weeks of the four-month long rainy season.