Pakistan posts a current account surplus of $9m in November

December 18, 2023 (MLN): Pakistan has recorded a current account surplus of $9 million, compared to deficits of $184m in October and $157m in November 2022, the latest data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed today.

It is important to highlight that while the SBP initially reported a deficit of $74 million in the previous month, the newly revised data reveals that the deficit actually amounted to $184m for that same period.

This positive current account balance comes after four consecutive months of deficits, with the last reported surplus dating back to June 2023.

Total exports rose by 0.18% MoM and 12.17% YoY to $3.364bn as compared to the total exports of $3.358bn in the previous month and $2.99bn in the same month of last year.

Total imports rose by 1.28% MoM to $5.29bn as compared to the imports worth $5.22bn recorded in October, and showed an increase of 5.55% YoY when compared to the numbers of November of last year.

Meanwhile, on a cumulative basis, the current account deficit in the 5MFY24 was recorded at $1.16bn, showing a significant improvement of 64.46% YoY when compared to the deficit of $3.26bn in 5MFY23.

Furthermore, the workers' remittances decreased by 8.65% MoM to $2.25bn as compared to $2.46bn in the previous month; while on a yearly basis, the remittances went up by 3.54% YoY as it stood at $2.17bn in November 2022.

Cumulatively in 5MFY24, workers' remittances were recorded at $11.045bn as compared to $12.32bn in 5MFY23, depicting a fall of 10.33% YoY.

To note, remittances had been dropping constantly in the earlier months of this year on account of increased disparity between official and grey market rates, as many non-resident Pakistanis preferred to use unofficial channels, which offered Rs20-25 higher exchange rate per dollar.

In response to these challenges, the authorities, led by the army, began crackdowns against speculators, hoarders, and smugglers to restrict illegal dollar outflows and effectively strengthen the PKR against the USD.

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