Pakistan’s inflation rate drops to 9.6 per cent in August
- 03 Sep 2024
Pakistan’s annual inflation rate fell to 9.6 per cent in August, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said. The Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted the Bureau as saying that this marks the first single-digit figure in nearly three years.
Meanwhile Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday his government was working on implementing conditions from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to complete its loan programme, which he hoped would be the country’s last.
Pakistan in July struck an agreement with the IMF for a $7 billion, 37-month loan programme.
The Roshan Digital Account (RDA) initiative continues to attract significant investment from overseas Pakistanis, with the latest figures showing a total of $357 million invested in Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs), Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.
The State Bank of Pakistan’s latest data also reveals that the number of RDA accounts has crossed 723,000, with total remittances exceeding $8.4 billion. These figures demonstrate its success in providing convenient and secure financial access for overseas Pakistanis, fostering financial inclusion and attracting valuable investment to the country. Pakistan’s IT sector kicked off the fiscal year 2024-25 with impressive growth, as IT services exports surged by 32.46 per cent in July, reaching $297 million, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.
According to the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), this strong performance was fueled mainly by the computer services sector, which grew by 23.09 per cent to hit US $230.750 million.
Within this segment, software consultancy stood out with a remarkable 24.53 per cent increase, reaching $77.262 million.
Although information services and certain areas within computer services saw declines, the robust growth in telecommunication services, particularly call centre services (up 49.55 per cent to $25.442 million) and other telecommunication services (up 113.74 per cent to $41.468 million), further bolstered the sector’s overall positive trajectory.
These figures suggest a promising start to the fiscal year for Pakistan’s IT industry, with potential for continued expansion in the global market.
Agencies
