Pakistan’s Current Account Posts $162 Million Deficit in July

Pakistan’s Current Account Deficit (CAD) shrank by 78 percent in July 2024 to $162 million compared to a deficit of $741 million during the same period last year, according to the latest data by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The deficit was higher than expected due to a higher trade deficit of US$ 2.4 billion reported by SBP in July compared to US$ 1.97 billion reported by SBP. Normally SBP deficit numbers are lower than PBS numbers, Topline Securities said in a brief comment. July’s CAD is 48 percent higher compared to a deficit of $313 million reported in the previous month. It is pertinent to mention here that exports surged by 13 percent to $2.39 billion in July 2024 compared to exports of $2.1 billion registered in SPLY. Meanwhile, imports spiked by 16 percent to $4.8 billion from $4.1 billion seen in July 2023. Remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis surged by over 48 percent to $2.99 billion in July 2024 compared to inflows of $2 billion registered in the same period last year.