Current account deficit exceeds $15bn mark in 11 months.

KARACHI -- The current account deficit (CAD) sharply widened to $15.2 billion in the first 11 months of the outgoing fiscal year compared to just $1.183bn in the corresponding period last year.

The State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) latest data showed that the CAD was more than doubled when compared with $618 million in April. The May deficit was even higher than March's $1.015bn.

The economy has been trapped by a soaring CAD and falling foreign exchange reserves amid the sharp devaluation of the rupee shattering the external account of the economy while leaving no chance for the PML-N-led coalition government to raise dollars from the international market.

The data showed that the main reason for the widening current account deficit was the surging import bill.

The import bill reached $75.746bn during the first 11 months of the current fiscal year against $55.561bn in the same period last year. The government could not control the world oil prices which were rising on strong demand from all countries to meet their growing energy needs as economic activities picked up the pace the post-pandemic.

But the huge trade gap was not solely due to higher oil prices as the import bill in 11 months of the current fiscal year was $75.74bn while the payments for petroleum products during the same period were about $17.923bn compared to the last year's $9.818bn.

The PML-N-led coalition government banned imports of luxury and non-essential goods 32 items to bring down the import bill but it looks the decision could not produce the desired result as the trade gap has constantly been increasing.

The trade deficit, as per the SBP data, stood at $40.095bn during July-May FY22. The imports of goods and services were $75.7bn against the exports of goods and services worth $35.651bn.

This huge deficit resulted in the steep...