Current account gap narrows

Pakistan’s external account improved considerably during July-March FY24 as the current account deficit (CAD) narrowed down significantly by 87.5 per cent to $0.5 billion compared to $4.1bn last year,” reported the Economic Survey 2023-24 on Tuesday. The financial account also witnessed net inflows of $4.2bn, mainly augmented by inflows from friendly countries and official inflows, in sharp contrast to net outflows of $1.1bn during July-March FY23, it said. The improved inflows in July-March materialised amid successful implementation of reforms agreed upon as part of the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF. “The increase in CAD and financial support from bilateral and multilateral development partners resulted in the building of foreign reserves. Specifically, reserves increased to $8bn by the end of March 2024 from $4.4bn at the end of FY2023,” said the survey.