Pak sees current account surplus for 2nd straight month

Islamabad, Sep 24 (IANS) Pakistan has witnessed a current account surplus for the second consecutive month owing to a fall in imports and surge in remittances, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said.

For the first two months of fiscal year (FY) 2021 (from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021), Pakistan’s current account recorded a surplus of $508 million in July and $297 million in August, Xinhua news agency quoted the SBP as saying on Wednesday.

“The current account balance reached a surplus of $805 million during Jul-Aug FY21 compared to a deficit of $1.2 billion in the same period last year,” the central bank said.

The current account is an important means of measuring the health of the economy and in Pakistan’s case, it is usually in deficit or loss as the country spends more dollars than it earns.

The bank said that the country’s efforts to attract workers’ remittances, flexible exchange rate and relatively benign import prices resulted in the improvement of the current account balance.

Earlier this month, the SBP said that foreign remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis reached %$2.768 billion in July, and $2.095 billion in August.

Efforts under the Pakistan Remittance Initiative and the gradual reopening of businesses in major host countries contributed to the increase in remittances, said the central bank.

–IANS

ksk/