Fitch Ratings reveals new report on Pakistan Economy
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LAHORE - Pakistan’s external account woes will continue to worsen despite the steep decline in oil prices, the Fitch Rating research agency has said.
The export will likely come under pressure due to a global trade slowdown and it believes a major non-oil import contraction is looking increasingly possible.
According to the report, this would negatively influence Pakistan’s economic growth over the coming quarters and it maintained the real GDP growth forecast at 4.4% for the current financial year 2018-19, despite the windfall from oil import savings. Image: Fitch Solutions
Fitch Solution said the plunge in oil prices which commenced in October hadn’t yet been reflected in an improvement in Pakistan’s trade accounts.
The research agency highlighted that besides a meagre fall in Pakistan’s oil import bill, trade deficit clocked in at Rs371.6 billion in November, showing a slight improvement over the October figure and staying near record highs.
Similarly, foreign exchange reserves plummeted to their lowest since November 2014, touching just $9 billion, which equates to less than two months of import cover.
