Services Trade Deficit Contracts Over 29.34%

The country's services trade deficit narrowed by 29.34 per cent during the fiscal year 2018-19 compared to the exports of the corresponding period of last year

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Sep, 2019 ) :The country's services trade deficit narrowed by 29.34 per cent during the fiscal year 2018-19 compared to the exports of the corresponding period of last year.

The services trade deficit during July-June (2018-19) was recorded at US$4.288 billion against the deficit of US$6.068 billion during July-May (2017-18), showing decline of 29.34 per cent, official data Wednesday revealed.

The services' imports into the country during the period under review decreased by 14.90 per cent to US$9.664 billion from US$11.356 billion last year, according to latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

On the other hand, the exports of services from the country witnessed an increase of 1.66 per cent during the period. The services exports during the year were recorded at US$5.376 billion against the exports of US$5.288 billion during the same period of last year.

On year-on-year basis, the services imports into the country decreased by 34.53 per cent by going down from US$1.025 billion in June 2018 to US$0.671 billion in June 2019, the data revealed.

The exports from the country also decreased by 13.21 per cent, by going down from US$0.453 billion during June 2018 to US$ 0.393 billion in June 2019.

Based on the figures, the deficit during the month was recorded at US$0.277 billion in June 2019 against the deficit of US$ 0.571 billion in June 2018, showing increase of 51.44 per cent on year-on-year basis.

On the other hand, the imports on month-on-month basis, decreased by 41.47 per cent in June 2019 when compared to the imports of $0.1.147 billion in May 2019.

The exports also decreased by 8.63 per cent in June 2019 when compared to the exports of US $0.431 billion in May 2019, according to the data.