Apprising the National Assembly about the latest economic indicators, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday said foreign exchange reserves will cross $15 billion in July.
He said currently the reserves stand at $13 billion. A major increase has been witnessed in the reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan which are now over around $8 billion.
The minister said revenues of the Federal Board of Revenue have witnessed a growth of 15.6 percent during the first 10 months of the current financial year. He said Rs 1,745 billion have been collected against Rs 1,509 billion during corresponding period of last year. He said budget deficit stands at four percent against 5.5 percent of the corresponding period last year.
Dar said home remittances have also witnessed a growth of 11.4 percent. He said $1289 billion have been received so far under the head of home remittances as against $11.57 billion received against the corresponding period last year. Exports have risen to $19.11 billion showing a growth of 6.1 percent. He said that trade deficit has also been reduced significantly in the first nine months of current financial year. The paid deficit remained $13.93 billion against $14.74 billion during the corresponding year.
On inflation level, the finance minister said that it has been brought down to single digit and is currently stands at 8.6 percent. He said international community was also recognising that the country’s growth is witnessing an upward trend while inflation is on the decline. He said the GDP growth rate is expected to be four percent during the current financial year while it will be enhanced to five percent in the next year.
