Trade, current deficits witness decline as remittances rise in 2019-20

KARACHI: The current account and trade deficits have witnessed a massive decline during the first eight months of the ongoing fiscal year 2019-20 as compared to the same period of the previous year, ARY NEWS reported.

According to the details shared by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the current account deficit witnessed a 71 percent decline during the first eight months and stood at US$2.84 billion.

“A current account deficit of US$210 million was recorded during the month of February 2020,” the SBP report showed.

The trade deficit has also witnessed a 33 percent decline during the eight months of the 2019-20 and stood at US$13.21 billion.

The remittances from overseas Pakistanis, however, witnessed a five percent increase in the first eight months and jumped to US$15.12 billion.

On Monday, the State Bank of Pakistan said that the first eight months of the ongoing fiscal year 2019-20 witnessed a 512 percent increase in foreign investments as compared to the same period of the previous year.

According to data released by the SBP, the total foreign investments in the country stood at US$3.98 billion during the eight months of the ongoing fiscal year as compared to US$650.6 million during the same period of the previous year.

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It showed that the foreign investments in bonds reached upto US$2.16 billion, becoming a major booster in the overall foreign investments.

The direct foreign investments witnessed an increase of 75 percent from the previous year that is US$793.7 million. The direct investment during the previous fiscal year remained at US$1.059 billion.

However, investments in the Pakistan Stocks Market witnessed a negative trend as it saw decline by US$26 million.