Imran says economy finally moving in right direction

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday the country’s economy was finally moving in the right direction as for the first time in four years, the current account had gone surplus last month.

The Prime Minister, in a tweet, said the government’s economic reforms bore fruit as the current account surplus stood at over $99 million in October 2019.

“For first four months of our fiscal year, our current account deficit has fallen by 73.5 per cent (as) compared to same period last fiscal year,” he said. Khan said the country’s exports of goods and services rose by 20 per cent last month as compared to 9.6 per cent in October 2018. He also congratulated the exporters and encouraged them to keep it up.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data, the current account registered a surplus of $99 million in October 2019 against a deficit of $1.57 billion in corresponding month of last year.

On average, the current account deficit also declined sharply to $1.4 billion in July-October (2019-20) from $5.57 billion in the same period of the preceding fiscal year.This huge decline in the current account deficit became possible mainly due to notable reduction in the country’s imports coupled with increased workers’ remittances.

During the first four months of current fiscal year, the trade deficit plunged to $6.4 billion as compared to $11.1 billion posted during the same period of the year 2018-19.Meanwhile, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh also termed the development positive. The adviser, in a tweet, said posting of the current account surplus after four years was a very positive development for the external account and stabilisation of the country’s economy.