Trade deficit expands by 28.8pc month-on-month in August, PBS data shows

Karachi: Pakistan’s merchandise trade deficit jumped by 28.89pc per cent month-on-month in August, the data shared by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday showed.

The deficit climbed to $3.53 billion compared to $2.73 billion in July, the data further showed.

In August this year, the country’s exports stood at $2.5 billion compared to imports of $6.03 billion.

On a month-on-month basis, exports increased by 11.07pc while imports jumped by 20.84pc.

However, the trade deficit decreased by 18.48pc year-on-year. In August 2021, the trade deficit stood at $4.33 billion.

On a year-on-year basis, exports increased by 11.44pc while imports shrank by 8.26pc.

In the first two months of the current fiscal year, the trade deficit amounted to $6.26 billion, a decline of 17.13pc compared to the figure of $7.56 billion during the same time in FY22.