ISLAMABAD-The imports of gold witnessed an increase of 44.13 percent during the first two months of current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.
Pakistan imported gold worth $4.971 million during July-August (2023-23) as compared to $3.449 million during July-August (2022-23), a positive growth of 44.13 percent, according to PBS data. In terms of quantity, the gold imports increased by 56.33 percent during the period under review by going up from 65 kilograms last year to 102 kilograms this year.
Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the gold imports during August 2023 increased by 23.02 percent to $2.985 million as compared to the imports of $2.426 million in August 2022. In terms of quantity, Pakistan imported 52 kilograms of gold during the month under review as compared to the imports of 49 kilograms in August last year, showing growth of 6.12 percent. On month-on-month basis, the gold imports during August 2023 increased by 50.30 percent when compared to the imports of $1.986 million in July 2023.
In terms of quantity, the gold imports increased by 4 percent when compared to the imports of 50 kilogram during July 2023. It is pertinent to mention here that the trade deficit contracted by 40.29 percent during the first two months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year. The Trade deficit during July-August (2023-24) was recorded at $3.763 billion as against the deficit of $6.302 billion in July–August (2022-23), showing negative growth of 40.29 percent. During the period under review, the exports declined by 6.38 percent to $4.431 billion compared to the exports of $4.733 billion during the corresponding period of last year. On the other hand, the imports narrowed by 25.75 percent and were recorded at $8.194 billion compared to $11.035 billion last year, according to PBS data.