Current Account Balance (CAB) recorded $654 million surplus in March

In March 2023, the Current Account Balance (CAB) showed a surplus of $654 million, whereas in February 2023, it was at a deficit of $36 million.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recently released data showing that during the nine months of the current fiscal year 2022-23, the Current Account Deficit decreased by 74.1 percent to US$3.372 billion, as opposed to last year's deficit of $13.014 billion.

Year-on-year, the current account deficit declined by 60 percent, reaching $388 million in March 2023 compared to $981 million in the same month of 2022.

According to the data, exports of goods decreased from $23.706 billion to $21.088 billion, and imports of goods fell from $52.746 billion to $41.494 billion in Jul-March 2022-23.

In the first nine months of FY23, the overall trade deficit shrank to $20.406 billion, down from $29.040 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year. The trade deficit in services also reduced to $229 million this year, compared to $4.226 billion in the same period of the previous year.

During the period under review, the deficit of primary income increased to $3.895 billion, compared to $3.797 billion in the same period of the previous year.

The combined deficit of goods, services, and primary income also decreased to $24.530 billion in the corresponding period, while last year, it was recorded at $37.103 billion during the same period.