Trade deficit surges by 2.47x MoM in May

June 16, 2023 (MLN): Pakistan's merchandise trade deficit for the month of May 2023 clocked in at $2.12 billion compared to a deficit of $860 million in April 2023, soaring by 2.47x MoM whereas, on a yearly basis, the trade deficit has narrowed by  48.55% YoY compared to $4.13bn in May 2022, the revised data for May issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed today. 

The increase in trade deficit on a monthly basis is due to the increasing imports as the import bill for the month of May stood at $4.32bn, jumped by 44.41% MoM.

while on a yearly basis, the import bill has dropped by 36% YoY compared to $6.76bn, reflecting the impact of import restrictions lately.

Amidst economic slowdown in the country’s major export market, energy shortages, and frequent closure of local manufacturing units, the exports registered a decrease of 16.16% YoY whereas, on a monthly basis, it inched up by 2.95% MoM to $2.22bn during the review period.

Cumulatively, within 11MFY23, the trade deficit stood at $25.83bn, narrowed by 40.50% YoY compared to the deficit of $43.4bn recorded in the same period last year.

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