By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan’s workers’ remittances rose 12.7% in September from a year earlier to $3.6 billion, lifting the July-September total to $10.9 billion and adding to the support for an external account that has leaned on money sent home by expatriates, State Bank of Pakistan data showed on Friday.
Inflows slipped 1.9% from August, when they reached about $3.7 billion. The first-quarter total of the fiscal year that began in July was up 14.7% from $9.5 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to the central bank.
Remittances are Pakistan’s largest source of foreign exchange, and the central bank has credited changes in the regulation of exchange companies and a push toward formal channels for the sustained increase. Governor Jameel Ahmad said in July the bank expects inflows to reach a record $44 billion in fiscal 2027 and reserves to exceed $20.2 billion by the end of December. The first-quarter total equals roughly a quarter of that target.
The gains have come even as the state has pulled back some incentives. The central bank stopped awarding new reward points under its Sohni Dharti remittance program from July 1 and ended reimbursements to banks for processing eligible transfers. Inflows have kept growing since: August was up 16.5% from a year earlier, at $3.66 billion, and September’s increase was smaller but still in double digits.
Saudi Arabia remained the biggest source, with Pakistanis there sending $899.13 million in September, up 19.73% from $750.98 million a year earlier and 3% above August’s $873.52 million. The United Arab Emirates followed at $748.53 million, a 10% gain from $677.15 million a year earlier and a 0.17% dip from $749.83 million in August. The two Gulf countries together supplied about 46% of the month’s total.
Remittances from the U.K. totaled $515.15 million, up 13.3% from $454.79 million in September 2025. August’s figure for the U.K. was $563.7 million, which puts the monthly decline at roughly 9%. Pakistanis in the U.S. sent $305.87 million, 13.7% more than the $269.02 million a year earlier and 1% less than August’s $308.84 million. Flows from European Union countries were $447.71 million, down 9.7% from $495.94 million in August. The four largest corridors accounted for about two-thirds of the month’s inflows.
The September figures follow a record year. Remittances totaled $41.6 billion in fiscal 2026, up 8.6% from $38.3 billion the year before. That came despite market concerns that the U.S.-Iran war, which began Feb. 28, would hurt Pakistan through uncertainty in the Gulf, home to many of its overseas workers.
The inflows have also helped offset a wide trade gap. Pakistan ran a current-account deficit of about $139 million in fiscal 2026, compared with a surplus of $1.84 billion the year before, as imports rebounded. The central bank’s reserves stood at about $18.5 billion at the end of June, and analysts expect the current-account gap to stay within the bank’s guidance of 0% to 1% of gross domestic product in fiscal 2027. Beyond the balance of payments, remittances add to the disposable incomes of the households that depend on them and support domestic economic activity.
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