Finance ministry releases monthly economic outlook for July 2020

ISLAMABAD: Finance Ministry on Monday issued the monthly economic outlook of the country for July 2020, showing a decline in exports and imports of the country during the previous fiscal year 2019-20, ARY NEWS reported.

According to the finance ministry, the exports have witnessed a 7.2 percent decline in the previous year and stood at United States Dollar (USD) 22.5 billion.

Imports also witnessed a decline of 18.2 percent and stood at Rs US$42.4 billion, the report highlighted showcasing a trade deficit of 27.9 percent at US$19.9 billion.

The workers’ remittance surged to US$23.1 billion, witnessing a 6.4 percent raise. The current account deficit remained at US$3 billion, showing a decline of 77.9 percent, showed the economic outlook report.

The foreign reserves reached US$18.98 billion after witnessing a US$4billion increase. However, the rupee continued its downward slide during the period and shed seven rupees to trade at Rs167.64 against the US dollar.

The FBR tax collection also witnessed a four percent increase after revenue of Rs 3981.4 billion was collected during the fiscal year. The government spending in terms of the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) remained at Rs519 billion.

The inflation rate remained at 8.6 percent in the country during the previous year while interest policy rate remained at seven percent, after witnessing cuts from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).