Pakistan’s Current Account
KARACHI: Pakistan recorded a historic improvement in its external balance as the current account posted a record monthly surplus of $1.2 billion in March 2025, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
This figure marks the highest monthly surplus ever recorded in the country’s history and reflects a significant turnaround in the nation’s economic performance.
Brokerage firm Topline Securities noted that this remarkable surplus compares with a $363 million surplus in the same month last year and a deficit of $97 million in February 2025. The sharp shift highlights the ongoing improvement in Pakistan’s external sector and is a strong indicator of increased financial inflows.
As a result of the March surplus, the cumulative current account for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) has swung into positive territory, registering a surplus of $1.86 billion.
This represents a stark reversal from the $1.65 billion deficit recorded during the same period of the previous fiscal year. The last time the country saw such a high surplus was in August 2012, when it stood at $981 million.
The significant improvement in the current account is largely attributed to a surge in workers’ remittances. In March, remittances jumped 37% year-on-year to reach $4.1 billion — also reflecting a 30% increase from February.
According to analysts at Topline Securities, this jump is largely due to seasonal inflows associated with Eid and Ramadan, a rise in overseas worker migration, better use of formal financial channels, and incentives offered by financial institutions. Given these developments, the SBP has revised its full-year remittance projection upward from $36 billion to $38 billion.
Other contributing factors include a narrowing of the services trade deficit, which declined by 13% on a month-to-month basis to $226 million, although it remained 14% higher year-on-year. The primary income account, however, posted a deficit of $657 million in March — an 11% increase compared to the same month last year.
On the trade front, exports of goods rose 10% year-on-year to $2.77 billion, while imports increased by 8% to $4.95 billion, showing a slight improvement in trade dynamics.
Looking ahead, Topline Securities projects that Pakistan’s current account will remain in surplus for the rest of FY25, with a full-year surplus estimated at $1.24 billion — roughly 0.3% of the country’s GDP. This sustained surplus is expected to provide much-needed stability to Pakistan’s external finances amid ongoing structural reforms.
