Services Trade Deficit Contracts Over 36.2%

The country's services trade deficit narrowed by 36.2 per cent during the first ten months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jun, 2019 ) :The country's services trade deficit narrowed by 36.2 per cent during the first ten months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The services trade deficit during July-April (2018-19) was recorded at US$ 3.216 billion against the deficit of US$ 5.041 billion during July-April (2017-18), showing decline of 36.2 per cent, official data revealed.

The services' imports into the country during the period under review decreased by 18.58 per cent to US$7.669 billion from US$ 9.420 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 a increase of 1.7 per cent during the period. The services exports during the first ten months of the current fiscal year were recorded at US$ 4.453 billion against the exports of US$4.379 billion during the same period of last year.

On year-on-year basis, the services imports into the country reduced by 21.74 per cent by declining from US$ 1.133 billion in April 2018 to US$ 0.887 billion in March 2019, the data revealed.

The exports from the country, however increased by 8.08 per cent, by going up from US$ 0.412 billion during April 2018 to US$ 0.446 billion in April 2019.

Based on the figures, the deficit during the month was recorded at US$ 0.441 billion in April 2019 against the deficit of US$ 0.

720 billion in April 2018, showing decline of 38.82 per cent on year-on-year basis.

On the other hand, the imports on month-on-month basis, increased by 15.12 per cent in April 2019 when compared to the imports of $0.770 billion in March 2019.

The exports, however decreased by 7.34 per cent in April 2019 when compared to the exports of US $ 0.481 billion in March 2019, according to the data.

Meanwhile, The country's merchandize trade deficit plunged by 13.62 per cent during the first eleven months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The trade deficit contracted by 13.62 per cent to $29.207 billion during July-May (2018-19) against the deficit of $33.812 billion recorded during July-May (2017-18).

The exports during the period under review witnessed nominal decrease of 0.3% by falling from $21.330 billion during last year to $21.267 billion during the ongoing fiscal year.

On the other hand, the imports declined by 8.47 per cent to $50.474 billion during the period under review from $55.142 billion last year, the data revealed.

On year-on-year basis, the exports declined by 1.72 per cent, from $2.139 billion in May 2018 to $2.102 billion in May 2019 while the imports declined by 12.8 per cent from $5.782 billion in May 2018 to $5.042 billion in May 2019, the data revealed.