By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: The overseas workers sent home a record $4.1 billion in March 2025, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad said Monday, driving the central bank to raise its full-year remittance and foreign reserve targets amid improving economic stability.
Speaking at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to launch Financial Literacy Week, Ahmad revised the SBP’s remittance projection for FY25 to $38 billion, up from $36 billion, after cumulative inflows surged 33.2 percent year-on-year to $28 billion in the first nine months (July-March).
Remittances in March alone jumped 37.3 percent from a year earlier and 29.8 percent month-on-month, driven by flows from Saudi Arabia ($987.3 million), the UAE ($842.1 million), the UK ($683.9 million), and the US ($419.5 million).
The governor projected a “substantial” current account surplus for FY25, calling it the “best performance on the external account during the last two decades.”
He also raised the SBP’s foreign exchange reserves target to $14 billion by June 2025, up from $13 billion, despite recent debt repayments that cut reserves to $10.6 billion. Pakistan expects $4–5 billion in external inflows by June, including funding from global financial institutions.
Ahmad maintained Pakistan’s GDP growth forecast at 3 percent for FY25 but noted that agricultural setbacks—due to a drop in output from last year’s 8 percent—prevented a potential 4.2 percent expansion.
Inflation, which hit a six-decade low of 0.7 percent in March, is expected to rise gradually, the governor said.
On the economic front, Ahmad highlighted a pickup in activity, with monthly imports rising to $5.7 billion. Addressing concerns about import restrictions, he said, “Those who are thinking that there are restrictions on imports or economic activity is not picking up, I think they should look at the data.”
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