Pakistan's current account deficit drops sharply to $0.5 billion in Feb: SBP

Islamabad: Pakistan’s current account deficit, the gap between the country’s higher foreign expenditure and low income, plunged sharply to $545 million ($0.5 billion) in the wake of timely actions taken by the government and relevant ministries.

According to the data released by the central bank on Saturday, the current account deficit fell “sharply” to $0.5 billion-- the lowest in Y22 and only one-fifth the level in January.

In Feb, the current account deficit fell sharply to $0.5bn, the lowest in FY22 and only one-fifth the level in Jan. Exports were close to all-time highs, rising 16% compared to Jan. Imports fell by 18% to their lowest level in FY22. For details, see https://t.co/Od8ikVvpBF pic.twitter.com/9SUPSLbPTC

— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) March 19, 2022

“Deficit shrank to only $0.5 billion in February, $2 billion lower than in January [and] lowest monthly deficit so far [in this] fiscal year,” he tweeted.

The SBP further reported that exports were close to an all-time high, rising to 16% compared to January while imports fell by 18% to their highest lowest level in FY22.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Imran Khan said “timely actions” to contain the soaring current account deficit have borne fruit.

Timely actions to contain current account deficit bear fruit.Deficit shrank to only $0.5bn in Feb,$2bn lower than in Jan & lowest monthly deficit so far this fiscal yr.Exports close to all-time high & imports down 21% from their peak & strong growth in large scale manufacturing.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 19, 2022

Taking to his official Twitter handle, the premier wrote: “Timely actions to contain current account deficit bear fruit.”

The premier also mentioned that exports are also close to all-time high [and] imports down 21% from their peak [and] “strong growth in large scale manufacturing.”