February 19, 2024 (MLN): The service sector of Pakistan posed a trade deficit of $317 million in January, reflecting an increase of 2.48x MoM, as compared to a deficit of $128m recorded in the previous month, the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed.
Comparison on a yearly basis shows that the country reported a surplus of $38m in trade of services in the Same Period Last Year (SPLY).
Details made available by SBP further revealed that the exports of services in January went down by 1.45% YoY to $678m compared to $688m in January 2023.
Similarly, on a month-wise basis, exports dropped by 7.25% MoM compared to the figures for December 2023.
Cumulatively in 7MFY24, services exports dropped by 2.41% YoY to $4.56bn compared to exports of $4.45m in 7MFY23.
Amongst the total exports in the review month, Telecommunications, Computer, and Information Services made the largest contribution with an amount of $265m in January, witnessing an increase of 39.47% YoY compared to exports in SPLY.
Meanwhile, Other Business Services held the second position, bringing $150m in January into the country.
In terms of growth, receipts from the exports of this section went up by 10.29% YoY compared to $136m in the same period last year.
On a sequential basis, other business services remain unchanged compared to exports of $150m in December 2023.
Furthermore, the export of transport and travel services contributed an amount of $65m and $73m, respectively in the review period.
The imports of services during the year amounted to $995m, which rose by 53.08% YoY compared to imports worth $650m in SPLY.
On a monthly basis, imports have increased compared to $859m recorded in the previous month.
Going forward, the imports during 7MFY24, stood at $4.79bn, up by 28.77% YoY compared with the number during 7MFY23.
Amongst the total imports, the largest expenditure was incurred on Transport for an amount of $435m during January, witnessing a growth of 35.09% YoY and 8.48% MoM.
The Travel services cost the country around $255m, recording an increase of 73.47% YoY, while going up by 82.14% MoM.
Copyright Mettis Link News
Posted on: 2024-02-19T15:33:27+05:00
