KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced that the current account deficit has reduced to US$229 million in January 2021 from US$652 million last month.
Taking to Twitter, the SBP said that for the first seven months of the fiscal year 2020-21, the current account surplus is $912 million, a significant turnaround from the deficit of $2,544million during the same period last year.
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It further said that as compared to January 2020, exports grew steadily while remittances continued their record expansion.
“Imports of wheat and sugar to address domestic shortages, and palm oil, were significantly higher,” the central bank said adding that machinery imports continued to grow at double-digits, reflecting economic recovery.
It is pertinent to mention here that in January this year, the SBP shared monthly numbers of Balance of Payments noting the current account of Pakistan has turned red after bleeding US$ 1.1 billion in December alone.
The Pakistan CAB remained in surplus for consecutive five months but in December it bled US$ 1175 million and now its current standing is in a deficit of US$662.
SBP in its tweet to announce this development said, “Current account registered a deficit of $662mn after remaining in surplus for last 5 months.”
It said that cumulatively, during the six months of fiscal year 2021 the “current account remained in surplus of $1.1bn compared to a deficit of over $2bn in the corresponding period last year”.
