The national external balance sheet recorded a substantial turnaround during the final stretch of the fiscal year, posting a healthy current account surplus of 459 million dollars in May 2026. This strong monthly performance successfully pushed the cumulative current account position for the eleven-month July to May period into a net surplus of 255 million dollars. This successful transition into positive territory highlights a major stabilization milestone for the country’s external account, which had previously been navigating intense global commodity pressures and rising import bills.
The recovery was heavily underpinned by an exceptional performance in overseas worker inflows, which recorded their highest-ever single-month volume of 4.3 billion dollars in May 2026. This unprecedented monthly surge pushed cumulative remittances up by 9.2 percent to hit 38.1 billion dollars during the first eleven months of the fiscal year. These financial inflows remain absolutely pivotal to maintaining national external stability, with geographical data confirming that Saudi Arabia maintained its leading position by commanding a 23.5 percent share of total remittances, closely followed by the United Arab Emirates with a 21.0 percent stake.
Simultaneously, the digital economy has cemented its role as a premier driver of international corporate earnings. Total service sector exports were propelled by information technology services, which jumped by an impressive 20.4 percent to reach 4.2 billion dollars during the eleven-month review period. This steady tech-driven growth provided an essential cushion for the broader trade matrix, where total goods and services exports stabilized at 37.4 billion dollars, remaining broadly unchanged from the 37.5 billion dollars recorded in the previous fiscal year. Within this group, absolute outbound physical merchandise shipments accounted for 28.3 billion dollars.
Official trade data released by the statistics bureau reveals that despite intense competition in international textile markets, several key manufacturing sub-sectors managed to post modest volume gains. Inbound global shipments for ready-made garments expanded by 5.4 percent, while bedwear products grew by 2.2 percent, and knitwear manufacturing edged up by 1.0 percent. However, these localized export gains were offset by a prominent surge in domestic inbound demand for manufacturing inputs and energy products, with overall goods and services imports expanding to 69.6 billion dollars compared to 64.5 billion dollars during the previous year.
This inbound buying momentum was led by a 27.3 percent jump in petroleum crude shipments, a 2.9 percent rise in refined petroleum products, and a 10.8 percent increase in international palm oil imports, causing the aggregate goods and services trade deficit to widen to 32.2 billion dollars from 27.0 billion dollars a year earlier. On the capital front, total foreign direct investment inflows hit 3.3 billion dollars, translating into a net investment position of 1.6 billion dollars. China and Hong Kong remained the primary capital sources, sending 819.0 million dollars and 308.4 million dollars, respectively, with international investors heavily prioritizing the domestic power sector and corporate financial services.
Conversely, portfolio investment faced capital flight, with private and public securities recording net outflows of 566.0 million dollars and 579.6 million dollars, respectively. Despite these capital market outflows, national liquidity remains adequately protected, with total liquid foreign exchange reserves standing at 21.5 billion dollars as of June 19, 2026. The State Bank of Pakistan maintains a dominant share of 15.9 billion dollars within this repository, confirming that record-breaking remittances and tech-driven exports have successfully reinforced the country’s financial reserves ahead of the next fiscal cycle.
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