Current Account Posts Surplus Of $1.31 Bln In First Half

Pakistan's current account balance posted a surplus of US41.31 billion during first six months of current fiscal year (July-Dec 2020-21) against the deficit of $2.03 billion in period of last fiscal year

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Jan, 2021 ):Pakistan's current account balance posted a surplus of US41.31 billion during first six months of current fiscal year (July-Dec 2020-21) against the deficit of $2.03 billion in period of last fiscal year.

On year on year basis, however the balance of payment posted a deficit of $$662 million in December 2020, after remaining in surplus for last five months.

The deficit was recorded on the back of increased imports of some essential food items as well as growth-enhancing capital goods, oil and industrial raw materials due to domestic economic recovery, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported on Wednesday.

According to the data of SBP, the Current Account Balance without official transfers also witnessed a surplus of $970 million in first half as compared to the deficit of $2.

3 billion in period of last year.

The trade deficit was recorded at $11.4 billion in July-December 2020-21 compared to a deficit of $9.7billion in same period of the year 2019-20.

On the other hand, the deficit of trade in services narrowed to $977 million compared to $1.7 billion in the period under review.

As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the current account balance witnessed a surplus of 0.8 percent in the six months of current fiscal year as opposed to deficit of 1.8 percent in the same period of last year.