Islamabad: Pakistan’s current account deficit (CAD) shrank nearly 86% in February of FY23 after clocking in at $74 million only, compared to $519 million recorded a year earlier.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), during the first eight months of FY23 (July – February), the imbalance between net inflows and outflows showed a decline of 68%, amounting to $3.861 billion compared to $12.07 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Current Account Deficit (CAD) recorded $0.1 billion in Feb 2023 against a deficit of $0.5 billion in Feb 2022. Cumulatively CAD reduced to $ 3.9 billion in Jul-Feb FY23 compared to a deficit of $ 12.1 billion in Jul-Feb FY22.https://t.co/q3LNv3HgLshttps://t.co/Od8ikVvpBF pic.twitter.com/fVH9FBE0qG
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) March 20, 2023
Market analysts have said that the federal government’s measures to curtail the rising import have put a positive impact as the current account is continually presenting an improved picture.
According to the monthly statistics on trade by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), a massive cut was observed in imports in line with the steps taken by the incumbent government to ease the pressure on import bills during the first eight months of FY23.
Imports amounted to $40.093 billion during the period compared to the $52.452 billion that had been recorded during the same period last year.
Exports, however, also fell during the time to clock in at $18.793 billion from $20.573 billion recorded last year.
In February alone, the trade deficit shrank 43.56% on a year-on-year basis, as the trade imbalance amounted to $1.704 billion compared to the $3.019 billion that was recorded last year.
