Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The gold imports into the country decreased by 3.37 percent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year (2018-19) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
Pakistan imported gold worth US $ 4.474 million during July-September (2019-20) as compared to the imports of US $ 4.630 million during July-September (2018-19), showing decrease of 3.37 percent, according to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
In terms of quantity, the imports of gold decreased by10.08 per cent as the country imported 107 kilograms of gold during the period under review compared to the imports of 119 kilograms during last fiscal year.
Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the gold imports into the country during September 2019 shrunk by 40.44 percent as compared to the imports of the same month of the last year.
The gold imports during the months under review were recorded at US $ 1.178 million against the imports of US $ 1.978 million during September 2018.
In terms of quantity, the gold imports decreased from 48 kilograms in September 2018 to 29 kilograms in September 2019, showing decrease of 39.58 percent.
Meanwhile, on month-on-month basis, the gold imports during September 2019 increased by 39.15 percent when compared to the imports of US $ 1.936 million in August 2019.
In terms of quantity, the gold imports decreased by 36.96 percent in September 2019 when compared to the imports of 46 kilograms of gold in August 2019, the data revealed. It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s merchandise trade deficit plunged by 34.85 percent during the first three months of the current fiscal year (2019-20) as compared to the deficit of the same month of last year.
The trade deficit during July-September (2019-20) was recorded at US $ 5.727 billion against the deficit of US $ 8.791 billion during July-September (2018-19).
The exports increased from US $5.374 billion during last year to US $5.522 billion during the current fiscal year, showing growth of 2.75 percent. On the other hand, the imports into the country witnessed declined of 20.6 percent by falling from US $14.165 billion last year to US $11.249 billion during the current fiscal year, the data revealed.
