Pakistan’s Current Account Swings to $459 Million Surplus in May 2026
Pakistan’s current account recorded a sizeable surplus of $459 million in May 2026, according to figures released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Wednesday, marking a sharp turnaround from the $276 million deficit posted in April and the $44 million shortfall seen in May last year.
The improvement was driven largely by a surge in remittances from overseas Pakistanis, along with a modest uptick in exports during the month. Waqas Ghani, Head of Research at JS Global, explained to Business Recorder that record remittance inflows of $4.25 billion were the chief factor behind the surplus, enough to outweigh the deficit in goods trade.
SBP data showed that the country’s combined exports of goods and services reached $3.21 billion in May, a rise of just over one percent compared with $3.17 billion a year earlier. Imports, meanwhile, climbed to $6.49 billion, up nearly two percent from $6.39 billion in May 2025.
Remittances sent home by Pakistani workers abroad totalled $4.25 billion for the month, a jump of 15.4 percent over the $3.69 billion recorded in May last year.
For the eleven months of the current fiscal year, the cumulative current account surplus stood at $255 million, a steep 84 percent decline from the $1.62 billion surplus logged over the same stretch the previous fiscal year.
Khurram Schehzad, Advisor to the Finance Minister, described the figures as evidence of a steadily strengthening external position. He noted that the country has now posted four surpluses across five months, calling a robust external account the bedrock of sustainable, high economic growth.
Foreign exchange reserves, excluding the cash and special cash reserve requirements, climbed to $17.27 billion, a 49 percent increase from $11.62 billion a year earlier, pointing to stronger external buffers even as structural pressures on the current account persist.
On the exchange rate front, Pakistan’s Real Effective Exchange Rate index edged up to 106.15 in May from 105.84 in April. A REER reading above 100 signals that the country’s exports are losing competitiveness while imports become relatively cheaper; the reverse holds true when the index falls below 100. The Nominal Effective Exchange Rate index inched up by 0.03 percent month-on-month to a provisional 37.9, from 37.89 in April.
The central bank describes REER as a measure comparing the price of a basket of goods in Pakistan against the price of the same basket among its principal trading partners, with each partner’s basket converted into a common currency and weighted according to its share in imports, exports, or overall trade.
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