Record Remittances Boost Pakistan’s Economic Outlook

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad announced on Monday that Pakistan saw an unprecedented $4.1 billion in remittances from overseas workers in March 2025.

Ahmad mentioned that the central bank has adjusted its forecast for total remittances to $38 billion for the entire fiscal year 2025, a step up from the prior estimate of $36 billion.

Data from the SBP confirmed that the inflow of remittances from overseas workers into Pakistan reached $4.1 billion in March 2025, exceeding the $4 billion threshold for the first time.

Remittances demonstrated a 37% increase compared to the $2.95 billion recorded in the corresponding month of the previous year. When examining month-over-month data, remittances grew by 30% from the $3.12 billion recorded in February.

The SBP governor spoke at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday at the start of Financial Literacy Week.

Given the robust remittance levels, Ahmad voiced optimism that the current account will remain in surplus throughout the current fiscal year. He stated, “There will be a considerable surplus, marking the strongest performance on the external account in the past two decades.”

The chief of the central bank also revised the projection for foreign exchange reserves (held by SBP) upward to $14 billion by the close of June 2025. The bank had earlier projected FX reserves to be at $13 billion by the end of June.

Foreign Exchange Reserves Increase

He also mentioned the growth in the SBP reserves is expected, in spite of a $2 billion decrease in FX over the last couple of months due to debt repayments reaching $10.6 billion currently.

He anticipates that Pakistan will secure $4-5 billion from external sources by the conclusion of June. These receipts will encompass funds from global financial institutions.

He added that Pakistan’s economic activities have shown improvement, with imports increasing to $5.7 billion monthly.

“For those who believe that there are restrictions on imports or that economic activity is not improving, I suggest they review the data,” he stated.

Ahmad forecasts economic growth to be at 3% for fiscal year 2025.

He elaborated, “The growth could have been 4.2% this year if agricultural output had remained strong at the previous year’s level of 8%.”

He did note, however, that inflation readings would begin to rise starting this month, following a six-decade low of 0.7% that was achieved in March 2025.