ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan's trade deficit widened to $12.6 billion during the first four months of this fiscal year, an addition of $3.5 billion over the same period last year, after monthly imports spiked to the highest level in over three and a half years.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Tuesday that imports in the month of October amounted to $6.1 billion. This was the highest level since March 2022, when the country was about to enter a period of severe economic crisis, followed by harsh stabilisation measures and currency controls. The international trade bulletin released by the PBS showed that the gap between imports and exports reached $12.6 billion during the July-October period. The deficit was $3.5 billion, or 38%, higher than the same period of last fiscal year.

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