KARACHI: The recent stats by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) show that the current account deficit in October has swelled by $1.6 billion and with respect to GDP, it has grown to 4.7 per cent from 4.1pc previously. The total deficit from July-October stood at $5.084bn.
This has affected the exchange rate and foreign exchange reserves in the current financial year, causing the dollar to rise by 13.4pc. The increase in imports is said to be the main reason for the deficit as the import bill for the first four months of the financial year was $23.484bn.
A drop of $2.2bn in foreign exchange reserves has brought the current reserves to $16.9bn.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is yet to receive Saudia Arabia’s grant of $3bn. Delay in finalising the IMF deal is creating hurdles for payment balance and exchange rate.