Category: Top stories

Find top stories in this section. Pakistan Revenue brings you the latest and most important news from Pakistan and around the world, keeping you informed with key updates and insights.

Rupee plunges; dollar hits Rs199.80 in midday trading

KARACHI: The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) plunged by Rs1.88 to the US dollar during midday trading at interbank foreign exchange market on Monday.

The rupee is at Rs199.80 to the dollar during midday trading as compared with last Friday’s closing of Rs197.92 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

READ MORE: Dollar rebounds to Rs197.92; halts rupee’s gaining streak

The rupee hit all-time low of Rs202.01 to the dollar on May 26, 2022. On the same day, the government decided to increase petroleum prices to pave way for IMF loan program. Following this decision the rupee made significant recovery to Rs197.59 on June 02, 2022.

However, the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recorded massive decline as per data issued on June 02, 2022. The local currency again under pressure and started losing value.

The foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell two years low to $9.72 billion by week ended May 27, 2022. The SBP foreign exchange reserves were at $10.089 billion a week ago i.e. May 20, 2022. The central bank said that its reserves were decreased by $366 million to $ 9.723 billion due to external debt repayment. The SBP’s foreign exchange reserves were at $9.96 billion on June 19, 2020.

READ MORE: Dollar weakens for 5th straight day; ends at Rs197.59

The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank witnessed a record high at $20.146 billion by week ended August 27, 2021. Since touching the peak the central bank’s foreign exchange witnessed a continuous decline. The official reserves of the SBP fell around $10.423 billion by week ended May 27, 2022 from touching the peak on August 27, 2021. The official reserves of the SBP also reduced to payment for 1.46 months for import cover.

Overall the foreign exchange reserves of the country declined by $379 million to $15.771 billion by week ended May 27, 2022 as compared with $16.150 billion a week ago. The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit all-time high of $27.228 billion on August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have declined by $11.547 billion.

READ MORE: SBP’s forex reserves fall two-year low to $9.72 billion

The dollar hit record high at Rs202.01 on May 26, 2022. However, with the decision of the government to partially withdraw the subsidy to get next tranche of the IMF, the rupee sharply made gains against the dollar. The local unit made a recovery of Rs4.42 against the dollar during past five sessions.

The rupee remained under pressure against the greenback during the current fiscal year. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has taken various measures to support balance of payment and the local currency. However, the measures ended in a failure to help the rupee to recover losses.

The SBP on May 23, 2022 announced a sharp increase in policy rate by 150 basis points to 13.75 per cent from 12.25 per cent.

READ MORE: Dollar loses Rs4.14 in four sessions; falls to Rs197.87

Recently the government announced to impose a complete ban on imports to support balance of payment and help rupee to stable. However, these measures appeared in failure as the exchange rate yet again deteriorated today massively.

Pakistan’s import bill massively increased to $72.18 billion during first 11 months (July – May) 2021/2022 as compared with $50.03 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year, showing an increase of 44.28 per cent.

Pakistan is a net importer of petroleum products to meet its domestic demand. The country’s energy bill was $17.03 billion during the first nine 10 months (July – April) 2021/2022 as compared with $8.69 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, showing a massive growth of 96 per cent. The oil bill is around 25 per cent of the total import bill of the country.

June 6, 2022
Customs directed not to confiscate personal baggage

LAHORE: Authorities of Pakistan Customs have been directed to facilitate passengers and not to confiscate personal gifts and food brought with the passengers.

Head of Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Salman Sufi directed this while visiting Lahore Airport.

READ MORE: Banned items: FBR deputes officers 24X7 to facilitate passengers

Salman Sufi said new airport operation reforms will be announced soon to improve passenger facilities at airports.

He said this during his visit to Lahore Airport to review the complaints of confiscation of personal belongings of passengers and the facilities provided to them.

READ MORE: Import ban not to apply on L/C issued before May 19, 2022

Salman Sufi directed the customs authorities to improve services through a systematic procedure from receipt of goods to inspection and not confiscate any personal gifts and food brought with the passengers.

READ MORE: Pakistan’s imports hit record high at $65.47 bn in 10 months

He also directed the Civil Aviation Authority to increase the number of porters and provide special rooms for the disabled passengers where they can rest in case of any flight delay.

Salman Sufi said work has been started to run the Lahore airport in a new style so that best services could be provided to the passengers as per the vision of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

READ MORE: Pakistan’s March trade deficit widens by only 5.5%

June 6, 2022
FBR issues list of 113 retailers for mandatory integration

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued a list of 113 retailers and directed them to integrate by June 10, 2022 otherwise action will be taken as per law.

The FBR issued Sales Tax General Order (STGO) No. 18 of 2022 related to Tier-1 retailers for integration with FBR’s Point of Sale (POS) system.

READ MORE: FBR issues list of 185 retailers for mandatory integration

The Finance Act, 2019 added sub-section (6) to Section 8B of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 whereby a Tier-1 Retailer who did not integrate its retail outlet in the manner prescribed under Sub-Section (9A) of Section 3 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 during a tax period, its adjustable tax for that period would be reduced by 15 per cent. The figure of 15 per cent has been substituted by 60 per cent vide Finance Act, 2021.

READ MORE: FBR issues list of 1,358 retailers for mandatory POS

In order to operationalize this important provision of law, a system-based approach has been adopted whereby all Tier-1 Retailers who were liable to integrate but have not yet integrated, with effect from July 2021 (Sales Tax Returns filed in August 2021) are not be dealt as per the procedure laid down in STGO No/ 1 of 2022 issued on August 3, 2021.

READ MORE: Prize scheme on invoices issued by retailers

Under this STGO, a list of 113 identified Tier-1 Retailers has been placed on FBR’s web portal allowing them to integrate with FBR’s system by June 10, 2022 and the procedure of exclusion from this list of 113 identified Tier-1 Retailers shall apply as laid down in STGO 17 of 2022 dated May 05, 2022.

The FBR said that upon filing sales tax return for the month of May 2022 for all hereby notified Tier-1 Retailers not having yet integrated, their input tax claim would be disallowed as above, without any further notice or proceedings, creating tax demand by the same amount.

READ MORE: FBR decides penal action against defaulting retailers

June 5, 2022
SBP issues instructions on Hajj related outward remittances

KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued instructions to banks related to issuance of remittances for Hajj expanses and their repatriation on non-utilization.

The SBP issued a circular dated June 03, 2022 invited attention of banks to Para 45A, Chapter 17 of Foreign Exchange Manual in terms of which Authorized Dealers are allowed to make remittances in foreign exchange to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on behalf of Hajj Group Organizers (HGOs) subject to compliance of applicable terms and conditions.

The SBP said in order to facilitate the HGOs to effect Hajj related remittances, Para 45(A) (v), Chapter 17 of Foreign Exchange Manual stands amended as per following:

“45A. Remittances by Authorized Dealers on behalf of Hajj Group Organizers for Hajj.

(v)(a) Authorized Dealers may also effect Hajj related remittances, on behalf of HGOs, to Tawafa/Hajj service providers duly designated by the Saudi Arabian Hajj Authorities. The remittances will be made on receipt of following information/ documents by Authorized Dealers:

— Details of Hajj Package bifurcating local and foreign expenses per pilgrim in terms of related Hajj Package(s).

— Undertaking from concerned HGO for repatriation of funds in case of non-utilization.

(b)It will be the responsibility of the banks to satisfy themselves about the bona fides of the transaction.”

Prior to the amendment, the Para 45A of Chapter 17 of the Foreign Exchange Manual is as:

“45A. Remittances by Authorized Dealers on behalf of Hajj Group Organizers for Hajj.

(i) Authorized Dealers may remit foreign exchange on behalf of the Hajj Group Organizers (HGOs) having been allocated quota by the Ministry of Religious Affairs & Interfaith Harmony (MoRA) under the Private Hajj Scheme for respective Hajj season subject to terms and conditions mentioned below. Authorized Dealers may obtain list of enlisted HGOs along with allocated quota in respect of each HGO from MoRA.

Authorized Dealers, on being approached, shall either open a PKR Account in the name of concerned HGO with suffix “Hajj” or use the previously opened similar account specifically for the purpose of Hajj related remittances to Saudi Arabia subject to the following:

a) While opening/activating and operating these accounts, Authorized Dealers shall strictly follow SBP’s AML/KYC guidelines and ensure compliance of all related rules and regulations issued from time to time. They shall obtain all necessary documents from the concerned HGO.

b) For the purpose of effecting Hajj related remittances to Saudi Arabia, each HGO is permitted to maintain only one account with the Authorized Dealer of its choice. In this respect, Authorized Dealer shall obtain an undertaking from the HGO that it is not maintaining such account with any of the other Authorized Dealers or any other branch of the same Authorized Dealer for this purpose.

(ii) With respect to the operations of the designated accounts of HGOs in Pakistan, the Authorized Dealers will ensure that permissible deposits shall only be the PKR funds received from intending pilgrims by the HGOs. The Authorized Dealers shall obtain the list of intending pilgrims from concerned HGOs containing at least the below-mentioned details:

a) Name, address and contact details.

b) Passport No. &

c) HGO Hajj Package opted (Amount of Hajj Packages).

(iii) Authorized Dealers shall allow remittances into HGO’s account maintained with a specified Saudi bank against the PKR funds collected by HGOs in terms of sub-para (ii) above. However, in case where an HGO has not been able to open/operate account in Saudi Riyal with a Saudi bank, the remittances may be allowed directly to vendors/service providers in Saudi Arabia through FDD/TT/SWIFT. In this context, Authorized Dealers must ensure the following:

a) The remittances shall only be made for meeting expenses related to housing, Maktab, catering, transportation, guides, subsistence requirements and charges of the Ministry of Hajj in respect of intending pilgrims performing Hajj from the quota allocated to the concerned HGO against authenticated underlying contracts with service providers in Saudi Arabia and submission of following information/documents by the respective HGOs:.

(aa) Detail of Hajj Package bifurcating local and foreign expenses per pilgrim.

(bb) Quota Allocation letter by MoRA for respective Hajj season.

(cc) Invoice(s) issued by Saudi vendors in favor of which remittance is being made or FDD is being issued. However, in case final invoices are not available with the HGOs, the Authorized Dealers will ensure submission of related invoices etc. after finalization of the contracts and will allow remittances after due diligence of contracts.

b) The HGOs shall provide per pilgrim per service foreign exchange requirements to Authorized Dealers for the services mentioned at (a) above in terms of related package. Authorized Dealers shall make remittances for such services after due verification keeping in view the total quota allocated to the concerned HGO under the Private Hajj Scheme for the concerned Hajj season. However, in any case, total remittances per pilgrim into account of HGO/direct payments to vendors in Saudi Arabia should not exceed 80% of the Hajj Package being offered to the individual pilgrim.

c) In case aggregate remittance against all services by an HGO on any given day exceeds US$ 100,000/-, the concerned HGO will approach Exchange Policy Department, State Bank of Pakistan, Karachi along with related details and Form ‘M’ through the concerned Authorized Dealer for prior approval.

d) Head/Principal Offices of Authorized Dealers shall submit consolidated report in respect of remittance transactions to the State Bank executed on behalf of HGOs on or before the 5th day of the following month as per the prescribed format (Appendix V-140) at the email ID: [email protected]. Further, Authorized Dealers shall maintain complete record of these transactions for SBP’s inspection.

e) It is mandatory for HGOs to repatriate the un-utilized amount to their designated bank accounts in Pakistan after completion of Hajj season. The respective Authorized Dealer shall ensure compliance of the same. Further, HGOs shall have the option to withdraw or transfer remaining PKR funds from these accounts to any other PKR account in Pakistan.

(iv) Further, in order to facilitate the HGOs to make arrangements of Maktab, housing, catering, transportation, guides, etc. in Saudi Arabia, Authorized Dealers may make advance remittances on behalf of HGOs upto 30% of the Hajj Package being offered by them to the individual pilgrims. The remittances will be made on submission of the following information/documents by the respective HGOs:

(a) Authenticated underlying contract with Saudi vendor/service provider.

(b) Details of Hajj Package bifurcating projected local and foreign expenses per pilgrim.

(c) Quota Allocation letter by the Ministry of Religious Affairs & Interfaith Harmony for previous Hajj season.

(d) Undertaking from concerned HGO for repatriation of funds in case of non-performance.

(e) Invoice(s) issued by Saudi vendors/service providers in favor of which advance remittance is being made. However, in case final invoices are not available with the HGOs at the time of remittance, the Authorized Dealers will ensure receipt of related invoices subsequently.

v) In addition to the above, Authorized Dealers may also effect Hajj related remittances into United Agents Office, Saudi Arabia’s IBAN maintained on behalf of each HGO with the External Hajj e-Service Portal. The remittances will be made on submission of following information/ documents by the respective HGOs:

a) Details of Hajj Package bifurcating local and foreign expenses per pilgrim in terms of related Hajj Package(s).

b) Undertaking from concerned HGO for repatriation of funds in case of non-utilization.

vi) Authorized Dealers must ensure receipt of all related invoices/e-invoices/vouchers, etc. from concerned HGO after finalization of the contracts, reconcile each transaction subsequently and comply with all instructions including those mentioned at Para (iii) above.

vii) While processing advance remittance request, the Authorized Dealer will take all possible measures to verify the bonafides and genuineness of the transaction. In case of non performance of contract for any reason, the Authorized Dealer and HGO will ensure repatriation of advance payment before completion of respective Hajj season.

viii) In the case of repatriation of advance payment, exchange gain, if any, will not be passed on to the HGO, rather the same will be deposited in favor of State Bank of Pakistan. To this effect, the Authorized Dealer should get consent/agreement signed by the concerned HGO at the time of effecting remittance. The exchange gain should be deposited in favor of the State Bank through RTGS Clearing Account No. 427518. In this respect, a consolidated statement regarding all such cases will be submitted by Head/Principal Offices of the Authorized Dealers to the Director, Foreign Exchange Operations Department, SBP-Banking Services Corporation on monthly basis as per prescribed format (Appendix V-141).

June 4, 2022
Dollar rebounds to Rs197.92; halts rupee’s gaining streak

KARACHI: The US dollar halted five days gaining streak of the Pakistan Rupee (PKR) on Friday after the foreign exchange reserves of the central bank fell below $10 billion.

The exchange rate witnessed 33 paisas decline to end at Rs197.92 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs197.59 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

The dollar made a gain after five days consecutive decline against the rupee.

READ MORE: Dollar weakens for 5th straight day; ends at Rs197.59

The foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell two years low to $9.72 billion by week ended May 27, 2022. The SBP foreign exchange reserves were at $10.089 billion a week ago i.e. May 20, 2022. The central bank said that its reserves were decreased by $366 million to $ 9.723 billion due to external debt repayment. The SBP’s foreign exchange reserves were at $9.96 billion on June 19, 2020.

The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank witnessed a record high at $20.146 billion by week ended August 27, 2021. Since touching the peak the central bank’s foreign exchange witnessed a continuous decline. The official reserves of the SBP fell around $10.423 billion by week ended May 27, 2022 from touching the peak on August 27, 2021. The official reserves of the SBP also reduced to payment for 1.46 months for import cover.

READ MORE: SBP’s forex reserves fall two-year low to $9.72 billion

Overall the foreign exchange reserves of the country declined by $379 million to $15.771 billion by week ended May 27, 2022 as compared with $16.150 billion a week ago. The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit all-time high of $27.228 billion on August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have declined by $11.547 billion.

The dollar hit record high at Rs202.01 on May 26, 2022. However, with the decision of the government to partially withdraw the subsidy to get next tranche of the IMF, the rupee sharply made gains against the dollar. The local unit made a recovery of Rs4.42 against the dollar during past five sessions.

READ MORE: Dollar loses Rs4.14 in four sessions; falls to Rs197.87

The rupee remained under pressure against the greenback during the current fiscal year. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has taken various measures to support balance of payment and the local currency. However, the measures ended in a failure to help the rupee to recover losses.

The SBP on May 23, 2022 announced a sharp increase in policy rate by 150 basis points to 13.75 per cent from 12.25 per cent.

Recently the government announced to impose a complete ban on imports to support balance of payment and help rupee to stable. However, these measures appeared in failure as the exchange rate yet again deteriorated today massively.

Pakistan’s import bill massively increased to $72.18 billion during first 11 months (July – May) 2021/2022 as compared with $50.03 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year, showing an increase of 44.28 per cent.

READ MORE: Pakistan’s trade deficit balloons $43.33 bn in 11 months

Pakistan is a net importer of petroleum products to meet its domestic demand. The country’s energy bill was $17.03 billion during the first nine 10 months (July – April) 2021/2022 as compared with $8.69 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, showing a massive growth of 96 per cent. The oil bill is around 25 per cent of the total import bill of the country.

June 3, 2022
Prices of essential items rise by 20% on first POL rate jump

ISLAMABAD: The prices of essential items recorded an increase of 20 per cent owing to first jump in petroleum prices announced a week ago, official documents revealed on Friday.

The inflation based on Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) has increased by 20.04 per cent on year on year basis by week ended June 02, 2022, according to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

READ MORE: Pakistan’s headline inflation up by 13.8% in May 2022

On week on week (WoW) basis the SPI recorded a two percent for the week ended June 02, 2022 over the previous week ended May 06, 2022.

The SPI determines the price fluctuation in basic kitchen items on weekly basis. The Sensitive Price Indicator comprises 51 essential items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities.

The latest surge in prices of essential items is the result of increase in prices of petroleum products that were announced on May 26, 2022 and effective from May 27, 2022.

READ MORE: Pakistan’s inflation sharply up by 13.4% in April 2022

The federal government on May 26, 2022 announced a sharp increase of Rs30 per cent liter each on all petroleum products.

The price hike in essential items likely to rise alarmingly and may reflect in the SPI of next week ended June 9, 2022 as the government again increased the prices of petroleum products on June 02, 2022.

According to the PBS, the SPI for the current week ended on June 02, 2022 recorded an increase of 2 per cent.

READ MORE: Pakistan’s headline inflation increases by 12.7% in March

Increase observed in the prices of food items Potatoes (9.08 per cent), Eggs (6.38 per cent), Vegetable Ghee 1 kg (4.59 per cent), Bread (2.72 per cent), Mustard Oil (2.65 per cent), Pulse Masoor (2.33 per cent), Cooking Oil 5 litre (2.18 per cent), Pulse Gram (1.99 per cent), Sugar (1.93 per cent), Cooked Beef & Pulse Mash (1.69 per cent) each, Vegetable Ghee 2.5 kg (1.51 per cent) and Bananas (1.35 per cent), non-food items Hi-Speed Diesel (20.69 per cent), Petrol Super(19.91 per cent) and Toilet Soap (1.40 per cent) with joint impact of (2.09 per cent) into the overall SPI for combined group of (2.00 per cent).

On the other hand, decrease observed in the prices of Chicken (4.68 per cent ), Garlic (2.75 per cent), Wheat Flour (1.91 per cent), Tomatoes (1.26 per cent) and LPG (0.74 per cent).

READ MORE: Food inflation rural increases by 14.6% in February 2022

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 28 (54.90 per cent) items increased, 05 (9.81 per cent) items decreased and 18 (35.29 per cent) items remained stable.

The year on year trend depicts an increase of 20.04 per cent, Onions (177.62 per cent), Tomatoes (152.57 per cent), Mustard Oil (70.50 per cent), Vegetable Ghee 1 Kg (68.02 per cent), Garlic (67.44 per cent), Pulse Masoor (66.92 per cent), Petrol (64.78 per cent), Cooking Oil 5 litre (64.72 per cent), Vegetable Ghee 2.5 Kg (62.43 per cent), LPG (60.14 per cent), Diesel (56.45 per cent) and Washing Soap (42.92 per cent), while major decrease observed in the prices of Chillies Powdered (43.42 per cent), Pulse Moong (21.62 per cent), Electricity charges for Q1 (11.71 per cent), Sugar (11.16 per cent), Bananas (9.95 per cent), Potatoes (6.89 per cent) and Gur (1.46 per cent).

June 3, 2022

Pakistan hikes petroleum prices up to 50.71% in a week

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government led by a coalition government has sharply increased petroleum prices by up to 50.71 per cent in just one week.

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Thursday made second announcement in just span of one week to increase the prices of petroleum products around Rs30 per liter each time.

The new petroleum prices per liter effective from June 03, 2022 are:

Description	Price on May 26, 2022	Price on June 03, 2022	Difference	Percent increase
Petrol	Rs149.86	Rs209.86	Rs60	40%
High Speed Diesel	Rs144.15	Rs204.15	Rs60	41.62%
Kerosene oil	Rs129.56	Rs181.94	Rs52.38	45%
Light Speed Diesel	Rs118.31	Rs178.31	Rs60	50.71%

A statement issued by the finance division on Thursday stated that crude oil and petroleum prices are increasing substantially in the international market.

Maintaining POL prices at the hugely subsidized rates results in increasing both budget deficit and imports.

The subsidized rates of these POL products also poses supply chain risk, the finance division said.

The current fiscal position and market prices leave no option for the government but to increase the prices. Therefore, the government has decided to increase the prices of petroleum products with effect from June 03, 2022 keeping petroleum levy and sales tax at zero per cent.

“We note that the government is still losing money on petrol, high speed diesel and light diesel oil,” the finance division added.

The previous PTI government in February 2022 decided to freeze the prices of petroleum products at the level mentioned above in the table on May 26, 2022 up to June 30, 2022. However, former Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from the office through a no-confidence motion on April 10, 2022.

Since then, the new coalition government also maintained the prices till May 26, 2022. But under pressure of International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the release of next tranche of around $1 billion the government had no option but to increase the prices.

Analysts said that the significant hike in prices of petroleum products would bring a storm of inflation as POL prices are directly linked to all the prices of essential and non-essential items.

June 3, 2022

New petroleum prices in Pakistan from June 03, 2022

KARACHI: The government has announced further increase in prices of petroleum products by Rs30 per liter each from 12:00 AM of June 03, 2022.

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail in a press conference on Thursday announced a significant increase in petroleum prices by Rs30 per liter each.

READ MORE: Petroleum prices in Pakistan from June 01, 2022

It is second consecutive increase in a week as the country increased the prices Rs60 per liter on all petroleum products during past seven days.

READ MORE: Pakistan increases petroleum prices by Rs30 per liter

The prices of petroleum products from June 03, 2022 shall be: Petrol at Rs209.86 per; High Speed Diesel at Rs204.15 per liter; kerosene oil at Rs181.94 per liter; and light diesel oil at Rs178.31 per liter.

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail at a press conference announced to increase the prices of petroleum products admitting that there was no way out without removal of subsidy on petroleum products.

READ MORE: Govt. decides to continue subsidy on petroleum prices

However, the finance ministry in a statement issued on May 31, 2022 stated that the government had decided to keep the prices of petroleum products unchanged with an aim to provide relief to the consumers, despite revenue losses due to rising petroleum prices globally.

“With a view to provide maximum relief to the consumers, the Prime Minister of Pakistan has directed that the current prices of petroleum products as notified on 27th May, 2022 shall remain unchanged, despite revenue losses due to rising petroleum prices globally,” Finance ministry said in a statement issued here.

READ MORE: Pakistan cuts petroleum prices amid Russia-Ukraine War

June 2, 2022
Pakistan’s trade deficit balloons $43.33 bn in 11 months

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit ballooned to $43.33 billion during first 11 months (July – May) of fiscal year 2021/2022 owing to massive rise in import bill during the same period.

According to trade data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday, the trade deficit widened by 58 per cent to $43.334 billion during first eleven months of the current fiscal year as compared with $27.45 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.

READ MORE: Pakistan’s imports hit record high at $65.47 bn in 10 months

Pakistan’s import bill massively increased to $72.18 billion during the period under review as compared with $50.03 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year, showing an increase of 44.28 per cent.

On the other hand, exports have increased by 28 per cent to $28.85 billion during July – May 2021/2022 as compared with $22.57 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

READ MORE: Pakistan’s March trade deficit widens by only 5.5%

The exports registered 55.66 per cent growth to $2.60 billion in the month of May 2022 as compared with $1.67 billion in the same month of the last year.

READ MORE: Pakistan’s trade deficit widens to $32 billion in 8MFY22

Meanwhile, import bill for the month of May 2022 increased by 25.43 per cent to $6.44 billion as compared with $5.297 billion in the same month of the last year.

This resulted in widening of trade deficit by 11.50 per cent to $4.043 billion in the month of May 2022 as compared with the deficit of $3.62 billion in the same month of the last year.

READ MORE: Pakistan’s trade deficit widens by 92% in seven months

June 2, 2022
SBP’s forex reserves fall two-year low to $9.72 billion

KARACHI: The official foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell two years low to $9.72 billion by week ended May 27, 2022, a statement said on Thursday.

The SBP foreign exchange reserves were at $10.089 billion a week ago i.e. May 20, 2022. The central bank said that its reserves were decreased by $366 million to $ 9.723 billion due to external debt repayment.

READ MORE: Moody’s changes Pakistan’s outlook to negative

The SBP’s foreign exchange reserves were at $9.96 billion on June 19, 2020.

The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank witnessed a record high at $20.146 billion by week ended August 27, 2021. Since touching the peak the central bank’s foreign exchange witnessed a continuous decline. The official reserves of the SBP fell around $10.423 billion by week ended May 27, 2022 from touching the peak on August 27, 2021.

READ MORE: Pakistan’s headline inflation up by 13.8% in May 2022

The official reserves of the SBP also reduced to payment for 1.46 months for import cover.

Overall the foreign exchange reserves of the country declined by $379 million to $15.771 billion by week ended May 27, 2022 as compared with $16.150 billion a week ago.

READ MORE: Raw materials excluded from import banned items list

The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit all-time high of $27.228 billion on August 27, 2021. Since then the foreign exchange reserves have declined by $11.547 billion.

The foreign exchange held by commercial banks witnessed a slight decline of $13 million to $6.048 billion by week ended May 27, 2022 as compared with $6.061 billion a week ago.

READ MORE: Pakistan’s high growth threatened by fiscal imbalances

June 2, 2022