KARACHI: Pakistan’s current account posted a surplus in November 2025, reversing the deficit recorded a month earlier, largely on the back of a sharp reduction in trade and services deficits.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday reported a current account surplus of USD 100 million in November, compared with a deficit of USD 291 million in October.
The improvement was driven by a significant narrowing of the monthly trade and services gaps. The trade deficit, in November 2025, fell 11 percent to USD 2.454 billion, while the services deficit dropped sharply by 41 percent to USD 140 million.
The surplus in November 2025, however in lower than surplus recorded in November 2024, in which the current account recorded a surplus of USD 709 million.
Overall, Pakistan’s current account showed marked volatility in the first five months of this fiscal year (FY26), alternating between deficits and surpluses. The account recorded a deficit of USD 254 million in July 2025, which widened to USD 325 million in August, before swinging to a surplus of USD 100 million in September. The balance again turned negative in October with a deficit of USD 291 million, followed by a return to surplus of USD 100 million in November.
Cumulatively, during the first five months (July-Nov) of FY26, the current account recorded a deficit of USD 812 million, compared with a surplus of USD 503 million in the corresponding period last year.
Analysts said the current account deteriorated in the first five months mainly because of some 30 percent surge in the trade deficit, which overshadowed increase in remittances and reduction in interest and dividend repatriation.
According to the SBP, the current account deficit is in line with the anticipation. Imports continued to grow in line with improving economic activity, whereas workers’ remittances remained resilient. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in its meeting maintain the assessment for the current account and said that the deficit is projected to remain within 0 to 1 percent of GDP in FY26.
On positive note, with the receipt of funds from the IMF under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) and continued FX purchases, foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP have surpassed the December 2025 target of USD 15.5 billion to reach USD 15.8 billion as of December 12, 2025.Moreover, with the realization of planned official inflows, the SBP’s FX reserves are projected to strengthen to USD 17.8 billion by June 2026.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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