Trade deficit narrows over 33pc in July-October.

KARACHI -- The country's trade deficit fell by massive 33.5 per cent on account of substantial declines in imports during the first four months of this fiscal year.

According to the Ministry of Commerce data released on Saturday, the trade deficit dipped to $7.8 billion during July-October from $11.7bn in the corresponding last year.

In October it fell by 32pc to $1.97bn compared to $2.9bn in the same month last year.

The continuous shrinkage in imports is likely to bring the overall trade deficit to $19bn by end of the current fiscal year from $32bn in 2018-19.

The government has managed to reduce the current account deficit (CAD) by 64pc in the first quarter of 2019-20 thanks to sharp reduction in trade deficit and improved inflow of remittances.

Imports recorded contraction of 19.3pc to $15.3bn during the July-October period from $19bn in the same period last year. The PTI government has to introduce several policy measures to bring down the record-high trade deficit of $37.643bn booked by the PML-N government in last year of its tenure.

Year-on-year, imports during October plunged by 17pc to $3.9bn compared to $4.8bn during the same month last year.

Imports remained well above the $3bn mark since...