Karachi November 19 2024: In October 2024, Pakistan’s current account balance remained positive for the third consecutive month registering a surplus of USD 349 million compared to USD 86 million recorded in September 2024, according to data released by State Bank of Pakistan.
The balance of trade in goods remained in deficit, but the deficit narrowed by 23.0 percent, falling to USD 1,586 million from USD 2,061 million in September. This improvement was driven by a rise in exports and a slight decline in imports. Exports of goods reached USD 3,022 million, marking a 14.7 percent increase from the USD 2,635 million in September. On the other hand, imports of goods experienced a 1.9 percent reduction, dropping from USD 4,696 million in September to USD 4,608 million in October.
In the services sector, the balance also remained in deficit with widening gap. The balance on trade in services showed a USD 261 million deficit in October, a 1.2 percent increase compared to the USD 259million deficit in September. While exports of services increased by 4.1 percent to USD 689 million, the imports of services increased by 3.3 percent, rising to USD 950 million.
The balance on primary income deteriorated in November, with the deficit increasing by 39.1 percent. It worsened from a deficit of USD 653 million in September to USD 908 million in October due to higher interest and dividend repatriation. Meanwhile, the balance on secondary income, which includes remittances, showed a slight positive performance. Remittances increased by 1.5 percent, increasing to USD 3,052 million from USD 2,860 million, the overall secondary income balance remained at USD 3,104 million.
As a result of these movements, Pakistan’s current account balance for October 2024 turned positive, registering a USD 349 million surplus, continuing the positive momentum of last two month.
When looking at the cumulative numbers for the first four months of FY25 (July-September), Pakistan’s current account balance stood at a surplus of USD 218 million, showing improvement compared to the USD 1,528 million deficit in the same period of FY24. This change was largely driven by a stronger secondary income balance, which increased by 34.8 percent, due to notable rise in remittances by 34.7 percent over the same period last year. However, the balance of trade in goods worsened by 18.9 percent YoY, with the trade deficit in goods expanding to USD 8,324 million from USD 7,000 million in the same period of FY24.
