In October, Pakistan’s trade deficit expanded to $2.099 billion, marking a38.27% month-over-month (MoM) deterioration from the previous month’sdeficit of $1.518 billion, according to data released by the PakistanBureau of Statistics (PBS).
Despite this monthly setback, there was a glimmer of optimism when comparedto October 2022. The trade deficit showed a 4.46% improvement as it stoodat $2.2 billion.
October saw exports increase by 9.33% MoM to $2.71 billion, a positiveshift from the $2.48 billion recorded in September 2023. The year-on-year(YoY) comparison was even more favorable, with exports rising by 13.55%compared to October 2022.
However, the rise in imports during the review month was a notable factorcontributing to the widening trade deficit. Imports surged by 20.33% MoM,reaching $4.81 billion compared to the previous month’s $4 billion. In aYoY context, imports increased by 4.91% in October 2022, amounting to $4.58billion.
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Looking at the cumulative data for the first four months of Fiscal Year2024, there is a positive trend. The trade deficit improved by 34.70% YoY,falling to $7.42 billion when compared to the $11.36 billion reported inthe same period during the previous fiscal year. This suggests anencouraging development in Pakistan’s trade dynamics.