January 2, 2022 (MLN): The latest weekly roundup covers the latest economic and financial data releases over the past week to keep an eye on next week's trends.

• Pakistan’s trade deficit during the month of December declined by 17% MoM to $4.14bn compared to $5.02bn in the previous month as imports weakened by $1bn MoM to $6.9 billion, Adviser to PM on Commerce and Investment Razak Dawood announced today.
• Pakistan's yearly inflation rate (new base 2015-16) in December 2021 hit a 22-months high at 12.3% compared to 11.53% in November 2021 and 8% in December 2020.
• In order to meet the petroleum levy target agreed with International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government on Friday had increased petrol prices by Rs4 per litre till January 15.
• The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had approved the Petroleum Division’s proposal of debt swapping against a loan of Rs54 billion secured by Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) in 2016 for the construction of a dedicated pipeline.
• The foreign exchange reserves held by the country dipped by 1% WoW to stand at $24.27 billion during the week ended on December 24, 2021, compared to $24.63 billion in the previous week.
• The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected net revenue of Rs2.92 trillion during July-December FY22.
• The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the combined group witnessed a decline of 0.5% WoW for the week ended December 30, 2021.
• A Special Cabinet meeting was convened on December 30, 2021, to discuss and approve the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021.
• The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has introduced Shariah Compliant Standing Ceiling Facility and Open Market Operations (OMO injections) for Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs).
• Owing to prudent policies of the government, the fiscal deficit has been brought down to 1.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the first four months of the Fiscal Year 2021-22 against a 1.7 percent deficit during the same period last year.
• Financial Advisory Services Agreement (FASA) was signed on December 28, 2021, with Financial Advisor Consortium (FAC) in order to sale the identified government properties.
• The government has disbursed a sum of Rs23,911.77 million for various power division schemes under the annual Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the Year 2021-22 so far.
• The average monthly economic indicator (MEI) for the first five months of the current fiscal year (2021-22) indicates that the average economic growth of the country during the period could be estimated at around 5%.
• During the week, the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved one development project with a cost of Rs528.383 million and recommended another project worth Rs191.19 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further consideration.
• Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarinn has taken the oath as Finance Minister on Monday as per which he would be holding the portfolio of Minister for Finance.
• Pakistan Railways (PR) has earned around Rs200.33 billion during the last four years and also significantly decreased its working expenses to transform the organization into a profitable entity.

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