Daily Times

Pakistan’s finance ministry says the government is improving better than IMF’s projection in terms of the macro-economic indicators, including inflation rate.

A spokesperson of the ministry said in a statement that the inflation rate is anticipated to lower down to around 5% in the mid-term of the current fiscal year.

There have been improvements seen in the external sector, he said. The overall current account deficit has diminished by almost two-thirds in the first quarter of the current fiscal year in comparison to the same period the previous year.

The spokesperson also said that the current account deficit is projected to reduce to 2.4%of the GDP in the current fiscal year, which is lower than earlier IMF forecasts of 2.6%.

He said, the IMF recently released $452 million as the second tranche, pleased with the economic performance, taking overall disbursements to around $1.45 billion. The IMF report recognized an improvement in the business climate and a return to market confidence.

He further said, the evaluation indicated that the government recognized that structural reforms were essential to reviving economic activity and development, especially in the public sector.