Services exports up by 4.06 per cent in 4 months

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The exports of services from the country witnessed growth of 4.06 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year. The services exports during July-October (2017-18) were recorded at $1663.39 million against the exports of $1598.42 million during July-October (2016-17), according to the latest data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The imports of services into the country also increased from $3129.48 million last year to $3323.37 during the current year, showing positive growth of 6.2 percent. Based on the figures, the services trade deficit during the first four months of the current fiscal year witnessed growth of 8.42 percent by going up from the deficit of $1531.06 million last year to $1659.54 million during the current fiscal year.

Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the services exports from the country during the month of October 2017 increased by 1.50 percent compared to the same month of last year.

The services exports during October 2017 were recorded at $400.17 million against the exports of $394.25 million in October 2016, the PBS data revealed.

The imports of services on year-on-year basis also increased by 6.23 percent by going up from $768.02 million in October 2016 to $815.88 million in October 2017. On month-on-month basis, the exports of services from the country, however, witnessed negative growth of 11.07 percent in October 2017 when compared to the exports of $449.99 during September 2017.

On the other hand, the imports of services into the country expanded by 9.61 percent in October 2017 when compared to the imports of $744.37 million in September 2017, according to the data of PBS.