Pakistan current account deficit swells to USD6.130 billion during July-March period

The current account deficit during July to March period has been widened to $6.130 billion as compared with $2.351 billion of the same period last year.
The State Bank of Pakistan Wednesday released data of balance of payment which showed that inflows have been reduced –exports and remittances which resulted in widening of the current account deficit.
During the last fiscal year the current account deficit was 3.394 billion dollars which was 1.2 percent of the gross domestic product.
But during the nine months under review the current account deficit has ballooned up to 2.6 percent of the GDP compared with 1.1 percent of the same period last year.
The main reason was the trade and service deficit which shot up to 19.759 billion dollars as against 15.389 billion dollars of the same period nine months of the preceding fiscal year.
Remittances also slowed during the nine months ended March 31, 2017 to 14.058 billion dollars as compared with 14.388 billion dollars.
During the recent review of Asian Development Bank and World Bank, both international financial institutions estimate 2.6 percent of the GDP due to rising imports mainly capital goods and slowing of exports due to global weakness in commodity markets