Pakistan posts $459 million current account surplus in May 2026

Pakistan recorded a current account surplus of $459 million in May 2026, reversing a deficit of $276 million in the previous month, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday.

The country had posted a current account deficit of $44 million in May 2025.

The monthly surplus was supported by higher workers’ remittances and a marginal increase in exports, despite continued growth in imports.

Remittance inflows rose 15.4% year-on-year to $4.25 billion in May 2026, compared with $3.69 billion in the corresponding month of the previous year.

Exports of goods and services increased by more than 1% to $3.21 billion during the month, from $3.17 billion in May 2025.

Imports of goods and services, meanwhile, rose nearly 2% to $6.49 billion, compared with $6.39 billion in the same month last year.

During the first 11 months of the fiscal year 2025-26, Pakistan posted a cumulative current account surplus of $255 million. This was 84% lower than the $1.62 billion surplus recorded during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, excluding cash reserve requirement and statutory cash reserve requirement holdings, increased 49% year-on-year to $17.27 billion from $11.62 billion.

Separately, the country’s Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) index increased to 106.15 in May 2026 from 105.84 in April.

A REER reading above 100 indicates that the currency is relatively stronger than its base-period level, which can make exports less competitive and imports comparatively cheaper. A reading below 100 indicates the opposite.

The Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) index also increased by 0.03% month-on-month to a provisional 37.90 in May from 37.89 in April.