Pakistan’s current account balance recorded a surplus of US$582 million in December 2024, contributing to a total of US$1,210 million for the first half of the fiscal year 2025. This development was largely attributed to increased remittances and a managed trade deficit.
According to a statement by JS Global, despite the favorable current account and a breakeven capital account, the overall Balance of Payments (BoP) shifted to negative for December due to loan repayments. However, the BoP has remained positive for the first half of FY25.
This marks the second instance in FY25 that the BoP has turned negative, the first being in July 2024. During this period, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) successfully augmented its reserves by US$2.3 billion, reaching US$11.7 billion. This effort improved the country’s import cover from 2.0 to 2.8 months.
For the fiscal year 2025, the SBP projects the current account balance to fall within the lower end of the 0%-1% of GDP range. The central bank’s target appears attainable, supported by a balanced trade deficit and consistent remittance inflows.