A possible indicator for growth?

Pakistan’s economy is sending contradictory signals. The stock market is doing well, but large-scale manufacturing is not. Inflation is at a record low, but the interest rate was not cut in the last monetary policy meeting. The current account is afloat, but driven by record-high remittances rather than exports. Most of these indicators do not reflect the ground reality, where about 40 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. A bull run in the stock market does not mean more jobs in the economy. A low inflation rate means prices have stopped rising, not that people can afford essentials. Rising remittances are more a result of crackdowns on hawala-hundi routes and a stable exchange rate than a testament to the diaspora earning more.