The services trade deficit shrank by 38.05 per cent as exports witnessed a growth of 3.97 per cent during the first four months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported. According to PBS data, the exports from the country from July-October (2022-23) were recorded at $2,259.21 million against the exports of $2,172.85 million in July-October (2021-22), showing growth of 4.63 per cent. On the other hand, the services’ imports declined by 11.83 per cent from US$ 3,483.37 million last year to US$3,071.13 million during the period under review. Based on the figures, the services trade deficit was recorded at US $811.92 million this year against a deficit of US$1,310.52 million during the last fiscal year, showing a decline of 38.05 per cent. On a year-on-year basis, the services exports during the month of October 2022 witnessed went up by 1.14 per cent to US$559.24 million against the exports of US $552.92 million during October 2021. On the other hand, the imports decreased by 25.96 per cent from US$986.09 million last October to the US $730.12 million in October 2022, according to the data. On a month-on-month basis, the services exports from the country went down by 2.05 per cent as compared to the exports of US $ 570.97 million in September 2022. The imports also went down by -0.94 per cent as compared to the imports of US $737.08 million in August 2022, the data revealed. Meanwhile, during the first five months of the current fiscal year, the merchandize trade deficit witnessed a decline of 30.14 per cent and was recorded at $ 14,406 million this year against the deficit of $ 20,621 million last year. According to PBS data, the exports from July-November (2022-23) were recorded at $11,932 million against the exports of $12,362 million in July-November (2021-22), showing decline of 3.48 percent. On the other hand, the imports of the country decreased by 20.15 per cent during the period under review by going down from $ 32,983 million last year to $ 26,338 million during the current year.