Q1 CA deficit soars 16pc YoY on higher imports

Business Recorder reported that the current account deficit widened 16 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, mainly because goods imports climbed. The State Bank of Pakistan said on Friday that the July to September deficit reached USD 874 million, compared with USD 755 million in the same period last year, a USD 119 million increase.

The September figure alone was a deficit of USD 356 million, reversing a surplus of USD 133 million a year earlier. The gap also widened sharply from USD 73 million in August, a monthly jump of 388 percent.

The import bill rose to USD 17.7 billion from USD 15.5 billion a year earlier, while remittances of USD 10.8 billion, up 13 percent, helped finance the gap. The SBP expects steady inflows and stronger ICT exports to hold the deficit at 0-1 percent of GDP by the end of the fiscal year.