Current account deficit closes financial year at $12 billion

Current account deficit in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017 amounted to $12 billion almost two and half times higher compared with the preceding year, indicating slow arrival of foreign funds, fall in remittance and acceleration in imports.

According to the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan the current account deficit reached $12 billion in the previous years, second biggest current account deficit in the recent past. In FY08 country witnessed the current account deficit of $13.48 billion.

In June alone current account deficit was $1.431 billion, less than $1.651 billion of May while in the quarter, i.e. April to June the deficit amounted to $4.419 billion.

The current account deficit widening depicts lower foreign investment, selling from foreign investors from the stock market, dismal remittance arrivals which were down for the first time in 13 years, depressing export numbers and tremendous growth witnessed in imports.

Imports accelerated by huge margin during the last fiscal year according the statistics of the central bank was 48.545 billion dollars , up by almost 7 billion dollars during 2015-16, exports were down by 300 million dollars and remittance by 600 million dollars to 21.660 billion dollars and 19.303 billion dollars respectively.

Moreover the government failed to receive amount from the US under the account of CSF and some delays in getting loans from ADB and World Bank, said an analyst.