KARACHI: Pakistan’s current account surplus has declined to $153 million in the last 11-month of the current fiscal year (July-May) against a deficit of $4.3 billion in the same period last year.
According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), “The current account (CA) deficit was $632 million in May 2021 from $188 million in April 2021, as exports fell due to partial lockdowns and long Eid holiday, and remittances moderated as usual post-Eid.”
The data said that Pakistan’s foreign total liquid reserves stood at $23.6 billion on June 18, 2021, while the dollar had touched Rs 157.62 after a decline of 83 paisas in last two days.
During the last 11 months of the current fiscal year, total exports of the country stood at $23.126 billion compared to $20.963 billion in 2019-20. Meanwhile, the services exports stood at $5.385 billion during the said period as compared to $5.060 billion last year.
The country’s imports touched $47.262 billion compared to $40.085 billion, excluding the services imports of $6.892 billion compared to $9.109 billion last year.
Rising workers’ remittances helped to cover the increasing trade deficit. The country received $26.737 billion in last 11-month this year compared to $20.658 billion received last year.
Pakistan received $1.7 billion under foreign investment while $2.175 billion in the head of portfolio investment, the SBP data said.
According to the data, Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during July-May 2020-21 surged by $30.935 billion to $272.622 billion compared to $241.687 billion in the same period last year.
