Pakistan recorded its Current Account Deficit (CAD) of US$160mn in Aug 2023 vs US$775mn in Jul-2023, which is better than estimates. This takes 2MFY24 CAD to US$935mn against a CAD of US$2,035mn in 2MFY23.

Remittances up 3% MoM to US$2.1bn in Aug-2023. This takes 2MFY24 remittances to US$4.1bn, down 22% YoY.

Foreign exchange reserves of the country in Aug 2023 were up 2% MoM to US$13.2bn. However, the reserves held by SBP were down 4% MoM to US$7.8bn in Aug-2023, primarily due to the increased import payments resulting from the opening of LCs.

Pakistan’s CPI Inflation in Aug 2023 came down to 27.4% YoY vs. 28.3% YoY in Jul 2023 and 29.4% YoY in Jun 2023. This came lower than market expectations of 28-29%, mainly due to lower food inflation. On an MoM basis, CPI inflation was up 1.7% in Aug 2023 compared to 3.5% in Jul 2023 and the last six-month average of 2.5%. This takes 2MFY24 average inflation to 27.84% compared to 26.10% in 2MFY23.

Courtesy- Topline Pakistan Research