ISLAMABAD: The current account deficit of Pakistan has exceeded $15 billion in 11 months of the fiscal year 2021-22 in comparison with just $1.1 billion CAD in the corresponding period of the financial year 2020-21.
In the month of May 2022, the CAD has expanded by almost 200 percent ($1.4 billion) when compared with the CAD of April 2022 and May 2021. In April this year the current account deficit was just half a billion dollars.
It is shocking to note that the trade deficit of Pakistan has expanded beyond $40 billion in 11 months of FY22 (July 2021 to May 2022), according to data of the State Bank of Pakistan.
The current account deficit (CAD) in May this year remained out of control despite various measures of the new government and the banking regulator to curb imports.
In May 2022, the overall imports fell compared to April, a decline in remittances and exports on account of Eid holidays contributed to this rise, the latest balance of payment data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday evening revealed.
Moreover, excluding in kind imports that are fully financed and do not undermine the sustainability of the CAD, the deficit was more modest, at $1 billion.
The overall current account deficit surged to $15.1 billion in the eleven months of the current financial year 2021-22 as compared to the deficit of $1.1 billion reported in the comparative period of the last financial year 2020-21.
