ISLAMABAD: The services trade deficit shrank by 34.79pc during the first seven months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
The services trade deficit during July-January (2018-19) was recorded at $2.091 billion against the deficit of $3.208 billion during July-January (2017-18), showing a decline of 34.79pc, official data revealed.
The services imports into the country during the period under review decreased by 18.11pc to $5.169 billion from $6.313 billion last year, according to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
On the other hand, the services exports from the country declined slightly by 0.88pc during the period. The services exports during the first seven months of the current fiscal year were recorded at $3.078 billion against the exports of $3.105 billion during the same period of last year.
Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the services imports into the country reduced by 26.11pc, declining from $0.904 billion in January 2018 to $0.668 billion in January 2019, the data revealed.
The exports from the country, however, increased by 6.95pc, going up from $0.440 billion during January 2018 to $0.471 billion in January 2019.
Based on the figures, the deficit during the month was recorded at $0.196 billion against the deficit of $0.463 billion in January 2018, showing a decline of 57.58pc on a year-on-year basis.
On the other hand, the imports on a month-on-month basis decreased by 20.23pc in January 2019 when compared to the imports of $0.837 billion in December 2018.
The exports increased by 0.31pc in January 2019 when compared to the exports of $0.470 billion in December 2018, according to the data.
