In September, Pakistan’s current account revealed a modest deficit of $8 million, as reported by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
This marks a notable improvement from the $950 million deficit observed in July 2023, and a significant reduction compared to the $360 million deficit recorded in September of the previous year.
To provide additional context, in July of this year, Pakistan faced a more substantial current account deficit of $809 million, the highest since October 2022, according to SBP data.
This figure, while lower than the $1.26 billion deficit in July 2022, sharply contrasts with June 2023 when the country enjoyed a surplus of $500 million in its current account.
In terms of trade, central bank data shows that Pakistan’s exports of goods and services dipped to $2.654 billion in July 2023, down from $2.743 billion in July 2022.
Concurrently, total imports for July 2023 amounted to $5.03 billion, a decrease from the $6.07 billion recorded in the same period the previous year. In July of the preceding year, the trade balance in services registered a deficit of $32 million.
Furthermore, there was a noticeable decline in worker remittances, with a year-on-year drop of 19.28 per cent. On a monthly basis, remittances decreased by 7.32 per cent to $2.027 billion.