Gold imports fall 44 percent in 5 months

ISLAMABAD: The gold imports into the country decreased by 44.45 percent during the first five months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

The gold imports into the country during July-November (2020-21) were recorded at $4.135 million as compared to the imports of $7.444 million during July-November (2019-20), the data revealed.

In terms of quantity, Pakistan imported 48 kilograms of gold during the period under review compared to the imports of 168 kilograms last year, showing a decline of 62.84 percent.

On year-on-year basis, the gold imports into the country witnessed a decrease of 1.39 percent during the month of November 2020 as compared to the imports of November 2019. The gold imports during November 2020 were recorded at $1.771 million against the imports of $1.796 million.

In terms of quantity, the gold imports decreased by 32.56 percent from 43 kilograms during November 2019 to 29 kilograms in November 2020.

On month-on-month basis, the gold imports during November 2020 increased by 35.40 percent when compared to the imports of 1.308 million in October 2020 while in terms of quantity, the imports increased by 38.10 percent in November 2020 when compared to the imports of 21 kilogram in October 2018.

It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s merchandize exports increased by 2.21 percent during the first five months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The exports during July-November (2020-21) were recorded at $9.747 billion against the exports of $9.536 billion in July-November (2019-20), showing growth of 2.21 percent according to PBS data.

The imports during the period under review also increased 1.63 percent by going up from $19.175 billion last year to $19.487 billion during the current fiscal year.

Based on the figures, there has been slight increase of 1.05 percent in the trade deficit during the period under review as it was recorded at $9.740 billion as compared to the deficit of $9.639 billion during last year.