ISLAMABAD, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The macroeconomic conditions in Pakistan have improved during the first half of the ongoing fiscal year from July 2023 to June 2024, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Tuesday.
The central bank's economic report for the first half of the fiscal year said that the real economic activities moderately recovered against the contraction last year, while Stand-By Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) helped reduce stress on external account.
Meanwhile, the current account deficit narrowed considerably, amid continued contractionary monetary and fiscal policies, better agriculture produce and ease in global commodity prices, said the report.
The real gross domestic product (GDP), driven by the agriculture sector, grew by 1.7 percent in the first half while the recovery in the agriculture sector also supported some of the agro-based industries, it added.
Despite subdued domestic demand and a decline in global commodity prices, a combination of lingering structural issues, local currency's depreciation compared to the first half of the previous fiscal year, an increase in government spending, and supply shocks kept the national consumer price index (CPI) inflation at elevated levels, according to the report. ■