PM Imran Khan says Pakistan made remarkable economic turnaround despite coronavirus pandemic

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister  Imran Khan on Tuesday said  the country had made a remarkable  economic turnaround  despite the novel coronavirus pandemic. 

"MashaAllah, despite COVID-19 great news on economy," he wrote in a tweet. "Remarkable turnaround. The premier said Pakistan's current account surplus in the month of November was $447 million, raising the cumulative surplus for the year to $1.6 billion."

For the same period last year, the country faced a deficit of $1.7 billion. "State Bank of Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves have risen to about $13 billion - highest in three years," he added.

This is the fifth consecutive month the country has seen a current account surplus. The central bank said in a tweet that the current account  surplus rose by $447 million against a deficit of $326 million in November last year.

"In contrast to previous five years, current account has been in surplus throughout the current fiscal year due to an improved trade balance and a sustained increase in remittances."

"In November 2020, both exports and imports picked up reflecting recovery in external demand and domestic economic activity," the SBP explained. "This turnaround in the current account, together with improvement in financial inflows, raised SBP’s foreign exchange reserves by around $1 billion in November 2020."

"At $13.1 billion, they are now at their highest level in 3 years."