Fourth-quarter growth slows to 2%

According to The Express Tribune, Pakistan's economic growth eased to 2% in the final quarter of fiscal 2026, covering April to June, after the National Accounts Committee approved a fresh estimate on Monday. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said industrial output fell 4.7% in the quarter while agriculture rose 3.7%, and it linked the slowdown partly to a high base effect from 6.1% growth a year earlier. Officials also cited regional tensions and costlier fuel as factors weighing on demand.

Services expanded 3.62% over the quarter, with wholesale and retail trade up 0.75% and transport and storage up 3.3%. Large-scale manufacturing grew only 0.41%, whereas mining and quarrying advanced 8.9% on higher gas, oil and coal output. Electricity, gas and water supply shrank 33.2% after a very high base, lower energy subsidies and a high price deflator.

The committee also approved revised import data for fiscal years 2021 to 2025, which adds $14.8 billion cumulatively to imports. Fiscal 2024-25 imports now stand at $64.5 billion, while the economy's size for that year rose by Rs137 billion to Rs114.2 trillion. The annual growth rate for fiscal 2025-26 was trimmed to 3.65%.