Despite COVID-19, current account surplus has reached 1.6bn: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said that despite the coronavirus, the country’s current account surplus has reached the level of 1.6 billion dollars.

The prime minister took to Twitter and wrote that despite the disease like coronavirus, there is great news for the economy that we have achieved significant stability.

MashaAllah despite Covid 19 great news on economy – remarkable turnaround. Current account surplus again in Nov: $447 mn. For fiscal year so far, surplus is $1.6 bn as opposed to deficit of $1.7bn same period last yr. SBP’s FX reserves have risen to about $13 bn, highest in 3 yrs

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 22, 2020

PM Imran Khan further wrote that the current account surplus during November stood at $447 million and the surplus so far in the current financial year has reached 1.6 billion. During the same period last year, our current account deficit was $1.7 billion dollars. SBP’s foreign exchange reserves reached $13 billion, the highest in three years, according to the prime minister.

Moreover, earlier this week, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had said that Pakistan’s economy was recovering but did not provide any growth projection. “Pakistan’s economy is recovering, particularly in the manufacturing and construction sectors, supported by the government emergency relief,” said the ADB report.

Despite the continuous spread of COVID-19, most economies have continued to relax containment measures and strict lockdowns have been deemed economically unsustainable, it said.

Developing Asia is now forecast to contract by 0.4 percent in 2020, less than the 0.7 percent contraction envisaged in the Asian Development Outlook 2020 update in September. Growth will rebound to 6.8 percent in 2021, but prospects diverge within the region.