Karachi March 19 2022: In February 2022 the current account deficit fell sharply to USD 545 million, the lowest in FY22 and only one-fifth the level in January 2022, according to data released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Exports were close to all-time highs, rising 16 percent compared to January Imports fell by 18 percent to their lowest level in FY22.
Significant reduction in Balance on Trade in Goods to USD 2,281 million in February 2022 compared to USD 3,817 in January 2022 is the major reason behind drop in Current Account Balance.
However, the balance of payments (BOP) data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday showed that the country’s CAD swelled to USD 12.09 billion during the first eight months of 2021-22 against a surplus of USD 994 million in 8MFY21.
The trade deficit in goods surged to USD 27.28 billion in 8MFY22 as against USD 16.03 billion in the same period of last year.
The export of goods during July-Feb FY22 were USD 20.6 billion compared to USD 16.09 billion, an increase of USD 4.5bn or 22 per cent.
The imports of goods increased 49 percent to USD 47.9 billion in 8MFY22 against USD 32.1 billion in the same period of last year.
The trade deficit in services surged to USD 2.5 billion in 8MFY22 as against USD 1.3 billion in the same period of last year. The export of services during July-Feb FY22 were USD 4.5 billion compared to USD 3.8 billion, an increase of USD 691 million or 18 per cent. The imports of goods increased 39 percent to USD 7.1 billion in 8MFY22 against USD 5.1 billion in the same period of last year.
The over USD 29.9 billion trade gap requires an almost the entire amount of remittances being sent by the overseas Pakistanis but the debt services still require around USD 13- USD 15 billion this year. The government is hopeful to receive about USD 30bn through remittances by the end of this fiscal FY22 while it has already received USD 20.1 billion in 8 months.
