Weekly Economic Roundup

June 21, 2020 (MLN): The financial snapshot of the country in full detail is highlighted with the economic and financial data releases over the course of the week.

• The Weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the Combined Group increased by 1.02% during the week ended Jun 18, 2020 while the SPI increased by 9.89% compared to the corresponding period from last year.

• Pakistan's Forex Reserves increased by USD 70.00 Million or 0.42% and the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at USD 16,775.30 Million on June 12, 2020.     

• According to the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on total Foreign Investment received by sectors, the Power sector has received the highest net foreign investment of $749.6 million during Jul-May FY20.

• According to the data released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Norway, Malta, Netherland, Switzerland, and the UK came as 5 top investors in Pakistan in May’20.  Unfortunately, China and UAE divested during the said period.

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Pakistan Friday signed 3 loan agreements, for $235 million, $500 million, and $75 million, respectively.

• The exports of cement witnessed a decrease of 6.79 percent during the first eleven months of the financial year 2019-20, against the exports of the corresponding period of last year.        

• The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) sector has attracted approximately Rs3.72 billion investment in supply and distribution infrastructure during the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year, which showed investors’ confidence in business-friendly policies introduced by the government.     

• The overall output for Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) decreased by 41.89% during April 2020, as compared to the same month of the previous year, and by 32.85% when compared to the previous month.

• The Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a loan of $500 million to help Pakistan battle the coronavirus pandemic, the bank said on Thursday.

• Imports into Pakistan during the month of May 2020 amounted to Rs. 458,272 million as against Rs. 526,880 million in April 2020 and Rs. 730,962 million in May 2019, showing a decrease of 13.02% over April 2020 and of 37.31% over May 2019.

• The total exports from Pakistan during the month of May 2020 amounted to Rs. 223,536 million as against Rs. 157,412 million in April 2020 and Rs. 305,303 million in May 2019, showing an increase of 42.01% over April 2020 but a decrease of 26.78% over May 2019.

• The import bill of the Machinery group surged by around 46.58% MoM, while contracted by 6.34% YoY to clock in at $718.88 million in the month of May 2020.

• The export bill of food group witnessed a decrease of 30.56% YoY and 5.18% MoM to stand at $321 million in the month of May 2020. Similarly, the imports of the food group into the country were recorded at $421 million, showing a decrease of around 20.61% YoY and 18.78% MoM when compared to the same period of last year and last month respectively.

• The COVID-19 pandemic led to a decrease in the trade volume of textile exports by 6.06% to $ 11.56 billion during Jul-May FY20 when compared to $ 12.31 billion recorded during Jul-May FY19.

• In the month of May 2020, export receipts from the Petroleum group & coal have been recorded at $462 thousand, showing a decline of 95.73% MoM and of 98.6% YoY. While imports of the same group plunged by around 43.7% MoM and 73.5% YoY to value at $326.75 million in May 2020.

• Currently, five refineries are operating in the country with an overall installed capacity of 417,400 barrels per day (BPD) oil and contributing significantly in meeting the petroleum needs through indigenous production.

• Pakistan Post has received foreign remittance amounting to $30.860 million, equivalent to Rs 4,832.505 million during July-December Fiscal Year 2020.      

• The Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) has achieved a collection net target of Rs 355 billion in the current fiscal year till June 15.

• The total debt of the Central Government during the month of April 2020 stood at Rs. 34.314 trillion, i.e.1% percent higher than the figures reported last month. Whereas, on a yearly basis, this debt figure was 22% higher compared to Rs 28.22 trillion recorded in April 2019.

• The non-government sector has retired a net sum of Rs.77.16 billion during the week ended June 05, 2020, which brings the cumulative net borrowing for ongoing fiscal year FY2020 to Rs.339.25 billion. The net borrowing as of prior week was recorded at Rs.416.41 billion.

• 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. 16 billion, which is around 4.85x higher than the figures recorded last week. Similarly, the total purchase of securities stood at Rs. 13.6 billion, which is 7.82x higher than the prior week.

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