Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Friday said the much-awaited negotiations with the International Monetary Fund were proceeding in a “positive” manner, hopeful that the country’s economic situation would get better soon.
Taking to his Twitter handle, the finance minister wrote, “With positive IMF talks underway, we expect a turnaround in the economic situation very soon.”
The Current Account Deficit for April came in at $623 million, less than half the average for the first 9 months of the fiscal year. This is a very good sign for external stability. With positive IMF talks underway, we expect a turnaround in the economic situation very soon.
— Miftah Ismail (@MiftahIsmail) May 20, 2022
He also presented the current account data released by the State Bank of Pakistan last night, terming the decline a “good sign for external stability”.
According to the SBP data, Pakistan’s current account deficit shrank by 39% month-on-month to $623 million in April. This happened because of record high workers’ remittances and a decline in the import bill.
“Current account deficit shrank to $623 million in April 2022; only two-thirds of March 2022 deficit of $1,015 million,” the central bank said on its official Twitter handle late on Thursday.
Current Account Deficit shrunk to $623mn, in Apr 22; only two-thirds of Mar22 deficit of $1015mn. A rise in workers’ remittances (by $315mn) & a fall in imports (by $246mn) explain this reduction. Cumulatively, CAD reached $13,779mn during Jul-Apr FY22.https://t.co/Od8ikVdOd5 pic.twitter.com/smhwJlyTZu
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) May 19, 2022
The data depicted that the export earnings increased by $83 million to $3.15 billion in April compared to $3.07 billion in March. Workers’ remittances were at a record high at $3.12 billion in April compared to $2.81 billion in March. Imports fell to $6 billion in April compared to $6.25 billion in the previous month.