Weekly Economic Roundup

November 17, 2019 (MLN): The financial picture of the country in full details was highlighted with the economic and financial data releases over the course of the week.

• The total external debt and liabilities of Pakistan during the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2020 stood at USD 106,891 million, i.e. 11% higher as compared to the figures of same period last year and merely 0.5% higher as compared to the previous quarter.
• Pakistan's trade deficit for 4 months (July-October) FY20 was USD 7.78* billion compared to a deficit of USD 11.70 billion from the corresponding period from FY19.
• Pakistan's Forex Reserves decreased by USD 15.50 Million or 0.1% and the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at USD 15,502.40 Million on Nov 08, 2019.
• According to a weekly report on SCRA released by the State Bank of Pakistan, the gross sale of securities during the week was recorded at Rs. 36.3 billion, which is around 864 percent higher than the figures recorded last week.
• Pak Rupee's Real Effective Exchange Rate Index (REER) increased by 1.91 percent in September 2019 to a provisional value of 94.45 from the revised value of 92.68 in August 2019.
• Overseas Pakistanis remitted USD 2 billion in the month of October 2019 compared to USD 1.75 billion in September 2019 showing an increase of USD 252.85 million over the previous month.
• Foreign investments in treasury bills have reached a new high, a report released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed on Thursday. Reportedly, the investments in treasury bills from November 1, 2019 to November 12, 2019 amounted to $267 million.
• Exports of raw cotton from the country during the first quarter of the current financial year increased by 53.65% as compared to the exports of the corresponding period of last year.
• The sale of passenger cars during the month of October 2019 stood at 9,569 units against the production of 9,547 units, a monthly report by Pakistan Automotive Manufacturer's Association (PAMA) revealed on Tuesday. This translated into a decline of 12.4 percent on a monthly basis and 55.16 percent on a yearly basis.
• The non-government sector has borrowed a net sum of Rs.45.05 billion during the week ended November 01, 2019, which brings the cumulative net borrowing for ongoing fiscal year FY2020 to Rs.20.82 billion. The net retirement as of prior week was recorded at Rs.24.23 billion.
• The government of Pakistan has acquired an additional debt of Rs.49.07 billion during the week ended November 01, 2019, which brings its total net borrowing for ongoing fiscal year 2020 to Rs.297.39 billion. As of prior week, the government had borrowed a net sum of Rs.248.32 billion.

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