ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s services trade deficit witnessed a decline of 17.46pc during the first six months of the current financial year (2019-20) as compared to the corresponding period of last year (2018-19).
During the period under review, the country’s services’ exports grew by 6.11pc, whereas imports reduced by 4.67pc, according to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
During the July-December 2019-20 period, services’ exports were recorded at $2.738 billion as against the exports of $2.580 billion in the same period of last year. On the other hand, services’ imports into the country were recorded at $4.533 billion as against the imports of $4.755 billion last year.
On a year-on-year basis, the services trade deficit narrowed by 45.85pc to $239.23 million in December 2019 as compared to the deficit of $441.82 million in December 2018.
During the month under review, the exports increased by 10.38pc, from $477.24 million last year to $526.78 million, whereas imports declined from $919.05 million to $766.01 million.
Meanwhile, on a month-on-month basis, the exports increased by 26.33pc in December 2019 when compared with the exports of $416.99 million in November 2019. The imports during the month under review also increased by 13.33pc in December 2019 when compared to the imports of $675.90 million in November 2019.
