ISLAMABAD -The current account deficit shrank by 60 percent to $3.66 billion during first half (Jul-Dec) of current fiscal year as against the deficit of $9.1 billion recorded during same period of last year. In December, after posting decline for five consecutive months, the current account deficit edged up to $0.4 billion as compared to $0.252 billion in November, 2022, according to a latest data issued by the SBP. On year-on-year basis, the current account deficit posted a record decline of 78 percent as it went down to $0.4 billion in December 2022 from $1.86 billion in the same month of the year 2021.
According to the data, the exports of goods decreased from $15.24 billion in Jul-December 2021-22 to $14.2 billion in same period of current fiscal year. On the other hand, the imports of goods also fell from $36.1 billion to $29.5 billion in the period under review.
The overall trade deficit also shrank to $15.6 billion in the first six months of FY23 as compared to the deficit of $23 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year. Similarly, the trade deficit in services also shrank to $357 million in Jul-December as compared to the deficit of $2.1 billion in the same period of the previous year. The deficit of primary income increased to $2.6 billion in Jul-Dec 2022-23 as compared to $2.5 billion in the same period of the previous year. The combined deficit of goods, services, and primary income also declined to $18.2 billion in the corresponding period while during the same period of last year, the deficit was recorded at $25.5 billion. Worker’s remittances also posted a decline during the period under review as it went down to $14.05 billion compared to $15.8 billion in Jul-Dec (2021-22).
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