Pakistan's current account deficit widens to $356m in September as imports surge

The State Bank of Pakistan said on Friday that September 2026 closed with a $356 million shortfall in the current account, a sharp swing from the revised $73 million gap in August. That result contrasted with a $133 million surplus in September 2025. The central bank also trimmed its earlier August figure of $98 million.

Goods and services exports advanced by over 15% year on year, hitting $3.95 billion. Imports grew by over 23%, reaching $7.38 billion, which widened the gap between earnings and payments. Inflows from overseas workers offered some cushion, climbing nearly 13% to $3.59 billion. Across the first quarter of FY27, the deficit totalled $874 million, up 16% from $755 million a year earlier.

Topline Securities has put the full-year FY27 gap somewhere between $2 billion and $3 billion, roughly 0.4% to 0.6% of GDP. Separately, the real effective exchange rate index, which tracks the rupee against a trade-weighted basket, climbed to 108.93 in September from 107.87 in August, a rise of 0.98%. A higher index typically signals a stronger real rupee, which can make exports pricier and imports cheaper.