Current account deficit shrinks 51pc to $572m in April

KARACHI: The country’s current account deficit in April 2020 stood at $572 million, a decline of 50.9pc when compared to the $1.165 billion deficit recorded in April 2019, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Thursday.

The current account deficit stood at $3.343 billion during the first ten months of fiscal year 2020, a decline of 71pc when compared to the $11.284 billion deficit recorded in the corresponding period last year.

Most of this was driven by the decline in total imports, which fell 26pc to $3.744 billion in April 2020, compared with $5.063 billion in April 2019.

However, total exports of goods also fell 19.6pc to $1.807 billion in April 2020, compared with $2.570 billion in April 2019.

Additionally, there was a 1.1pc rise in the inflow of workers’ remittances, which were recorded at $1.79 billion in April 2020.

During the first ten months of the fiscal year 2020, the total deficit in goods and services balance stood at $19.1 billion, a decline of 30pc from the deficit of $27.2 billion recorded in the corresponding period of last year.