ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan lowered its GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal year, ending June 30, to 0.29% from 2%, the country’s national accounts committee said in a statement, as a slowdown in the agriculture and industrial sectors curbed growth.
Gripped by economic turmoil and suffering a balance of payments crisis, Pakistan is trying to reach agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to disburse the stalled final $1.1 billion from a $6.5 billion bailout agreed in 2019.
Pakistan’s central bank said on Friday GDP growth was likely to remain significantly lower for financial year 2022-23 than the previous year, when growth was revised up to 5.77%.
The country posted highest ever inflation at 36.4% in April and its currency has depreciated to a historic low.
The national accounts committee’s latest GDP growth forecast is lower than the World Bank’s estimate of 0.4%, while the IMF said in April that the growth would be 0.5%.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad, writing by Tanvi Mehta; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman & Simon Cameron-Moore)
