They said that current account balance is constantly presenting deficit since July 2016 because of rising goods imports on the back of soaring commodity prices in the international market Home remittances also witnessed decline by 2 percent during the first seven months of the current financial year. Overseas Pakistani workers remitted $ 10.946 billion in first seven months (July 2016 to January 2017), compared with $ 11.155 billion received during the same period in the preceding year, they informed.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed on Friday that current account registered a deficit of $ 4.716 billion during July-January of the current fiscal year compared to $ 2.479 billion in corresponding period of the last fiscal year 2015-16, depicting a surge of 90.23 percent or $ 2.237 billion.
The detailed analysis showed that cumulative deficit of goods, service and income have been surged by 14 percent during the period under review. Combined deficit of goods, services and income increased to $ 17.756 billion in first seven months of the current fiscal year compared to $ 15.593 billion in same period of last fiscal year.
With $ 25.539 billion imports and $ 12.317 billion exports, the country's goods deficit reached $ 13.22 billion during July-January as against $ 10.914 billion trade deficit in corresponding period of 2015-16. During the period under review, services trade deficit stood at $ 1.986 billion, with $ 2.896 billion exports and $ 4.882 billion imports in July-January of this fiscal year. Similarly, with $ 2.953 billion payments and $ 405 million receipts, primary income sector deficit surged to $2.548 billion in first seven months of the current fiscal year. It may be mentioned here that during the last fiscal year, the country's current account deficit was surged by 16 percent to $ 3.26 billion.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017