KARACHI: Pakistan’s current account deficit narrowed to $8 million in September, a 98% drop from last year, as remittances from overseas Pakistanis and lower imports boosted the country’s external balance, The News reported Friday citing the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data.
As per the data, Pakistan registered a deficit of $360 million in September 2022. In September of this year, the current account deficit decreased by 95% on a month-on-month basis. The shortfall was $164 million in August.
Despite the nominal deficit reported by the country, analysts had predicted a surplus in the current account balance.
“The improvement (in CAD) has come mainly due to higher remittances and lower imports,” said Fahad Rauf, the head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities.
“The remittances are expected to increase further in October as the gap between open market and interbank has been addressed,” Rauf added. “We expect the CAD to remain low and might turn into a surplus in October.”
The country’s trade deficit fell 46.85% to $1.518 billion in September compared to the $2.856 billion it registered a year earlier.
According to the SBP’s data, Pakistan’s total imports declined 19% year-on-year to $4 billion in September. While the imports declined by 7% on a monthly basis.
With a 2% increase to $2.474 billion in September from $2.437 billion in September of last year, total exports indicated a little improvement. September’s exports increased by 2% on a month-on-month basis.
Remittances rose to $2.2 billion in September from $2.5 billion in the previous month. These inflows saw a 11% increase over the same month last year.
In the first quarter of this fiscal year, the nation recorded a $947 million current account deficit, which is 58% less than it was a year earlier.
