June 19, 2023 (MLN): The current account surplus for the month of May 2023 witnessed a notable surge of 3.26x MoM to stand at $255 million compared to the surplus of $78mn in April 2023, the latest data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed today.
While the same month last year, the country recorded a current account deficit of $1.5 billion.
Within 11MFY23, the current account deficit reduced to $2.94bn compared to the deficit of $15.16bn in the same period last year, shrinking by 81% YoY.
The trade deficit in goods narrowed by around 43.17% YoY while on a monthly basis, the balance of trade in goods increased by 2.7% MoM to $1.59bn in April 2023 as the import of goods declined by 38% YoY and 7.11% MoM.
Meanwhile, the trade balance in services also remained negative, down by 24.2% MoM and 61.8% YoY to clock in at $1.19bn.
Last time in January 2023, the trade balance in services witnessed a surplus of $18mn.
Furthermore, the worker’s remittances fell by 10.35% YoY while on a monthly basis, the remittances increased by 4.3% MoM to $2.1bn.
On a cumulative basis during 11MFY23, remittances by overseas Pakistanis moved down by 13% YoY to $24.83bn from $28.48bn recorded in the same period last year.
