Pakistan’s petroleum group import bill declined sharply in July 2026, falling to $1.277 billion from $1.910 billion in June, according to provisional data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The import bill decreased 33.14% month-on-month and was also 5.19% lower than the $1.347 billion recorded in July 2025. In rupee terms, petroleum group imports stood at Rs355,443 million during the month. The decline was primarily reflected across crude oil, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas imports, resulting in a substantial reduction in the overall petroleum import bill at the beginning of fiscal year 2026-27.
Petroleum crude remained one of the largest components of the import bill, but its import value recorded a significant monthly decline. Crude oil imports fell 37.36% month-on-month to $516.90 million in July. Despite the sharp monthly reduction, crude imports were still 29.81% higher than the corresponding figure recorded in July 2025. The monthly movement therefore represented a considerable reduction from June, while the annual comparison continued to show higher spending on imported crude.
Imports of petroleum products also recorded a substantial decrease during July. The value of petroleum products imported by Pakistan fell 36.51% month-on-month to $491.49 million. On a year-on-year basis, petroleum products imports were 22.61% lower than the level recorded in July 2025. The decline in both crude and petroleum product imports accounted for a major portion of the overall reduction in the petroleum group import bill during the month.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports also decreased in July, falling 13.79% month-on-month to $176.68 million. Compared with July 2025, LNG imports were 23.60% lower. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports followed a similar monthly trend, declining 12.77% from June to $91.66 million. However, unlike LNG, LPG imports remained higher on an annual basis, increasing 11.71% compared with July 2025.
The reduction in petroleum imports coincided with an increase in Pakistan’s petroleum group exports during July. Petroleum group exports rose to $80.54 million, up 14.84% month-on-month from $70.13 million in June. On a year-on-year basis, petroleum group exports recorded a much stronger increase of 66.02% compared with $48.51 million in July 2025. In rupee terms, petroleum group exports stood at Rs22,416 million during the month.
The increase in petroleum exports was driven almost entirely by petroleum products excluding top naphtha. Exports of these petroleum products increased 7.74% month-on-month to $75.56 million in July and were 101.17% higher than the corresponding value recorded in July 2025. The category therefore accounted for the overwhelming share of petroleum group export receipts during the month and recorded significant annual growth.
Petroleum top naphtha exports also resumed during July after recording no exports in June. The value of top naphtha exports reached $4.98 million in July. Despite the return of exports during the month, the figure remained 54.51% lower than the amount recorded in July 2025. The resumption nevertheless contributed to the overall increase in petroleum group exports compared with June.
The July data presents a notable shift in Pakistan’s petroleum trade compared with the previous month, with the import bill declining by more than one-third while petroleum exports increased. The sharp reduction in crude, petroleum products and LNG imports was the main factor behind the lower petroleum import bill, while higher exports of petroleum products supported the increase in outbound shipments. On an annual basis, the petroleum import bill remained below the July 2025 level, while petroleum group exports recorded substantial growth.
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