Trade deficit in services soars by 8.53x YoY in July

August 18, 2023 (MLN): The service sector of Pakistan posed a trade deficit of $273 million in July, reflecting a significant rise of around 8.53x YoY as compared to $32m in the same period last year, the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed.

Similarly, on a monthly basis, the deficit rose 2.18x MoM.

Details made available by SBP revealed that the exports of services in July increased by 2.28% YoY to $538m compared to $536m in July 2022. While on a monthly basis, exports fell by 6.27%.

Amongst the total exports, telecommunications, computers, and information services made the largest contribution with an amount of $214m in 1MFY24, witnessing an increase of 7.54% YoY compared to 1MFY23. However, on a monthly basis, exports fell by 4.46% as compared to $224m in June 2023.

Other business services brought $110m into the country. In terms of growth, receipts from the exports of other business services moved down by 7.56% YoY compared to $119m in the same period last year.

Moreover, the export of transport and travel services contributed an amount of $71m and $57m, respectively in the review period.

On the other hand, the imports of services during the year amounted to $811m, which rose significantly by 45.34% YoY, on a monthly basis, it edged higher by 16.02% MoM.

Amongst the total imports, the largest expenditure was incurred on transport services for an amount of $355m, witnessing a jump of 2.01% YoY and 19.93% MoM.

On the other hand, the travel services cost the country around $155m, recording a surge of 2.39x YoY compared to $65m in July 2022.

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