After four consecutive months of deficits, Pakistan’s current account posted a surplus of $9 million in November 2023. This is also in stark contrast to the deficit of $157 million recorded in the same month of the previous year, revealed data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday.

This is the first surplus since June 2023, but remains massively lower in terms of volume when it stood at $520 million.

Experts said the surplus comes amid a significant increase in the country’s exports and remittances, while imports posted a marginal decline.

Pakistan’s current account deficit clocks in at $74m in October

It is pertinent to mention that the country posted a current account deficit of $184 million in October 2023.

As per the central bank data, the country’s exports (goods and services) increased to $3.364 billion in November 2023 against $2.999 billion in November 2022, reflecting a jump of over 12%. Meanwhile, the country’s remittances stood at $2.25 billion in November 2023, in comparison to $2.17 billion in the same month last year, displaying a marginal increase of 4%.

On the other hand, total imports lowered by nearly 6% to $5.29 billion in November 2023 against $5.01 billion in the same period last year.

According to the SBP, Pakistan posted a current account deficit of $1.16 billion in July-November of FY24 as compared to a deficit of $3.3 billion during the same month of last fiscal year (FY23), a massive decline of over $2 billion or 64%.

The central bank, in its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held on December 12, noted a substantial improvement in the current account balance, as the deficit narrowed by 65.9% year-on-year to $1.1 billion during Jul-Oct FY24.

The current account is a key figure for cash-strapped Pakistan which relies heavily on imports to run its economy. A widening deficit puts pressure on the exchange rate and drains official foreign exchange reserves that stood at a little over $7 billion, according to the latest data.