Exchange companies’ dollar sales jump 30pc

Exchange companies sold $248.7 million to banks in August, according to figures from the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) that Dawn reported. That amount was 30 per cent higher than the $174.9 million recorded a year earlier. July, by contrast, saw sales fall to $230.7 million from $290.6 million in the corresponding month last year.

The association said inflows could have been $50m higher across July and August had political conflicts not disrupted Kashmir. Its chairman, Malik Bostan, said the situation there was normalising, and partial internet access had already been restored. ECAP has asked the State Bank to allow internet access across the whole of Kashmir. Over the first two months of FY27, the companies sold $479.5 million, up from $465.5 million a year earlier.

Dawn also noted that remittances have been unaffected by the Gulf war, although reports of Pakistani workers being sent home from Gulf countries have caused concern. The government has also taken note of the situation. Pakistan has set an FY27 remittance target of $44 billion, against $41.5 billion received in FY26.