Pakistani Economy Beats Growth Target, Up By 5%

Pakistan's GDP grew by 5 per cent during the first quarter of the current fiscal, beating the target by running high on industry and service sectors, the country's central bank said on Friday. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)'s first quarterly report said since macroeconomic indicators were favourable at the start of the year, the increase in real GDP growth in FY14 was discernible.

Pakistan's economists had set a growth target of 4.4 per cent for the current financial year and the central bank in earlier reports had forecast growth of four per cent. The report suggested that the government should speed up structural reforms in fiscal and energy sectors to maintain the current growth momentum and to take the economy to a higher growth trajectory.

"Estimates for growth exceeded expectations: GDP grew by 5 per cent during Q1-FY14, compared to only 2.9 per cent in Q1-FY13, and a target of 4.4 per cent for the full year," the report said. Industry and services were the major drivers of growth, as agriculture performed below target. As the industrial sector revived, import pressures reappeared, especially for capital goods and raw materials, it said.