WEB DESK: State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad reported that Pakistan achieved a record high of $4.1 billion in workers’ remittances for March 2025. This impressive inflow has prompted a revision of the central bank’s projections for total remittances for the fiscal year 2025 (FY25), increasing the estimate from $36 billion to $38 billion.
During a recent event at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) marking the start of Financial Literacy Week, Ahmad expressed optimism regarding the nation’s economic outlook, stating that he anticipates a substantial current account surplus for the fiscal year. “We foresee strong remittance inflows, leading to the best performance on the external account in the last two decades,” he remarked.
In addition to remittance projections, the Governor updated the forecast for foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), now expected to reach $14 billion by the end of June 2025, up from a prior estimate of $13 billion.
Ahmad noted that, despite a recent decline in foreign exchange reserves, attributed to debt repayments, the reserves are projected to recover with expected external resource inflows of $4-5 billion by the end of June. “These receipts will largely come from global financial institutions,” he explained.
Commenting on the status of economic activities, Ahmad indicated an uptick in imports, which have risen to approximately $5.7 billion per month, countering perceptions that economic activity is stagnating. “The data clearly reflects an improvement in economic conditions; those questioning the pace of economic activity should refer to the statistics,” he asserted.
Further, the Governor predicted economic growth of around 3% for FY25. He noted that this could have been higher—approximately 4.2%—if agricultural output had maintained the previous year’s robust growth of 8%. On the inflation front, Ahmad warned of an expected uptick following an extraordinary low inflation rate of just 0.7% recorded in March 2025.
Overall, the robust remittance inflows and positive adjustments in economic projections signal a potentially encouraging fiscal landscape for Pakistan in the coming months, despite the challenges posed by inflation and external debts.
