KARACHI (Reuters) -Pakistan’s economy grew 2.4% in the third quarter of the fiscal year that ends in June, the national accounts committee said on Tuesday, while revising up growth prospects for the current fiscal year.
In a statement the committee approved a projection of 2.68% provisional growth in GDP during FY 2024/25, taking the size of Pakistan’s economy to $410.96 billion.
This month Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11%, citing an improved inflation outlook and resuming a series of cuts from a record high of 22%, following a brief pause in March, to support growth.
The latest national accounts aggregates for fiscal 2024/25 showed the size of the economy at 114.7 trillion rupees ($410.96 billion) up from 105.1 trillion rupees ($ 371.66 billion), the committee said.
Growth in the agriculture sector was 1.18% in Q3, despite a decline in important crops, while industry contracted 1.14%, hit by negative growth in mining and quarrying and large-scale manufacturing.
The committee also approved Pakistan’s revised GDP growth at 1.37% in the first quarter and 1.53% in the second.
Pakistan’s manufacturing sector growth slowed to a seven-month low in April, with the HBL Pakistan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) easing to 51.9 from 52.7 in March, weighed by concerns over global trade.
(Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Clarence Fernandez)
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