The country’s services trade deficit narrowed by 36.2 percent during the first ten months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.
The services trade deficit during July-April (2018-19) was recorded at $3.216 billion against a deficit of $5.041 billion during July-April (2017-18), showing a decline of 36.2 percent, official data revealed.
The services’ imports into the country during the period under review decreased by 18.58 percent to $7.669 billion from $9.420 billion last year, according to latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
On the other hand, the export of services from the country witnessed an increase of 1.7 percent during the same time period. Services exports during the first ten months of the current fiscal year were recorded at $4.453 billion, compared to $4.379 billion during the same period of last year.
On a year-on-year basis, the services imports into the country reduced by 21.74 percent going from $1.133 billion in April 2018 to $0.887 billion in March 2019, the data revealed. The exports from the country, however, increased by 8.08 percent, by going up from $0.412 billion during April 2018 to $0.446 billion in April 2019.
Based on these figures, the deficit during the month was recorded at $0.441 billion in April 2019 against a deficit of $0.720 billion in April 2018, showing a decline of 38.82 percent on a year-on-year basis.
On the other hand, the imports on a month-on-month basis, increased by 15.12 percent in April 2019 when compared to the imports of $0.770 billion in March 2019.
The exports, however, decreased by 7.34 percent in April 2019 when compared to the exports of $0.481 billion in March 2019, according to the data.
Meanwhile, the country’s merchandise trade deficit plunged by 13.62 percent during the first eleven months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.
