Finance ministry releases monthly economic outlook report

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance on Thursday released its monthly economic outlook report, saying that Pakistan’s economy continued to show positive progress in the first seven months of the current fiscal year.

In its monthly economic outlook report, the Ministry of Finance noted that a sharp decline in inflation fostered a stable monetary environment, which helped the central bank to continuously reduce the policy rate. Investors’ confidence in the reliable performance of the Pakistan Stock Exchange is evident.

According to the Finance Ministry’s report, total revenues during the first six months of the current fiscal year increased by forty-two point five percent to Rs9,763.8 billion from Rs6,854 billion last year.

Despite the upward trend in imports, the external sector’s position has improved significantly due to the continuous increase in exports and workers’ remittances.

During the first seven months of the current fiscal year, the current account recorded a surplus of $682 million, compared to a deficit of $1,801 million last year. The Ministry of Finance’s Monthly Economic Outlook Report said that during the period, merchandise exports grew by 7.6 percent, reaching $19.2 billion, compared to $17.8 billion last year.

Workers’ remittances recorded a strong inflow of $20.8 billion, up 31.7 percent from $15.8 billion last year. Net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) was recorded at $1,523.6 million, up 56.2 percent from the previous year.

The primary surplus is expected to improve further in the coming months. Pakistan’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves were recorded at $15.9 billion on February 14 this year and the State Bank of Pakistan’s reserves were $11.2 billion.

Inflation is expected to remain in the range of two to three percent this month.