By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan recorded a current account surplus of $1.07 billion in March, the State Bank of Pakistan said Thursday, the third consecutive monthly surplus and one of the strongest monthly readings on record.
The outcome lifted the nine-month surplus for fiscal 2026 to $174 million. That compares with an $896 million deficit through the first eight months of the year, the central bank’s data showed. The SBP also revised its February figure to a $231 million surplus from a previously reported $427 million. The improvement came as the goods-and-services deficit narrowed and workers’ remittances rose, according to analysts.
Brokerage Topline Research said the monthly surplus expanded “due to lower goods and services deficit and higher remittances.” Adviser to the finance minister Khurram Schehzad called the March figure one of the strongest monthly outcomes in Pakistan’s history and the second-highest ever, trailing only the $1.2 billion surplus recorded in March 2025. “Pakistan’s external account continues to strengthen, delivering a third consecutive monthly surplus in 2026,” he wrote on X. “Pakistan’s external sector is firming up, with sustained surpluses signalling improving balance of payments stability.”
The central bank’s real effective exchange rate index climbed to 105.17 in March from 103.11 the prior month, reaching its highest level in 7½ years. The REER last traded above 105 in September 2018, when it stood at 106.63.
The data come as Pakistan’s external finances receive fresh support from the Gulf. The SBP received $2 billion from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance on Thursday, the central bank said. A day earlier, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb disclosed that Riyadh had committed an additional $3 billion in deposits, with disbursement expected shortly. The existing $5 billion Saudi deposit, previously subject to an annual rollover, has been extended for three years, he said.
The persistent monthly surpluses mark a sharp turnaround from the chronic deficits that long weighed on Pakistan’s economy. A sustained reduction in imports has been the main driver, analysts said, helping stabilize the balance of payments even as the country navigates high debt and tight foreign-exchange conditions.
Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd. noted that the nine-month current-account surplus stood at $8 million in the period, compared with $1.674 billion a year earlier. While the absolute level remains modest, the string of positive monthly prints has eased pressure on the rupee and helped rebuild reserves.
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