January 9, 2022 (MLN): The financial highlights of the country are brought to light with the economic and financial data releases over the course of the week.

• The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the combined group recorded an increase of 0.08% WoW for the week ended January 6, 2022
• The total deposits held by commercial banks have shown a growth of 17% YoY to almost Rs21 trillion in December 2021, compared to Rs17.87tr in the same month of last year on account of strong overseas inflows.
• The foreign exchange reserves held by the country dipped by $254.8 million or 1% WoW to stand at $24.02 billion during the week ended on December 31, 2021, compared to $24.27 billion in the previous week.
• Exports from Pakistan to Central Asian Republics (CARs) countries increased to USD $ 145 million in 2020-21 from USD $ 104 million in 2019-20.
• Net savings mobilized under National Savings Schemes (NSS) remained negative as investors pulled out Rs86.9 billion on a net basis during Jul-Nov FY22, against an inflow of Rs27.98bn in the same period last year.
• The total debt of the central government during November 2021 surged to Rs41 trillion, registering a jump of 14.5% YoY as compared to Rs35.8tr recorded in the same period last year.
• The Ministry of Commerce released Rs4 billion under the duty drawback on local taxes and levies (DLTL) scheme.
• Pakistan's merchandise trade deficit for the month of December 2021 clocked in at $4.8billion compared to a deficit of $2.62bn in the corresponding month last year, depicting a growth of 85% YoY.
• The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Wednesday approved the import of 50,000 metric tons of urea from China on an immediate basis subject to clearance from the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA).
• Foreign exchange inflows through Roshan Digital Account (RDA) reached $3.16 billion by December 2021 since its launch in September 2020, indicating the increasing confidence of non-residents Pakistanis (NRPs).
• Cement despatches declined by 4.2 percent in December 2021. Total Cement despatches during December 2021 were 4.59 million tons against 4.79 million Tons despatched during the same month of last fiscal year.
• The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Tuesday, notified an increase of Rs1.075 per unit in the electricity tariff for K-Electric (KE) consumers for the month of October 2021 under the fuel cost adjustment (FCA) mechanism.
• The Oil and Marketing Industry’s total sales volume for CY21 stood at 20.8mn tonnes marking a 19.5% increase in sales as compared to CY20 where 17.41mn tonnes were sold.
• The total money supply circulating within the economy during the fifth month of FY22 has been recorded at around Rs27.85trillion, according to provisional accounts on Monetary Aggregates for the month.
• With the start of 2022, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has set the stage for the dawn of a new era for banking in Pakistan with the introduction of a Licensing and Regulatory Framework for Digital Banks in line with international best practices.

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