Islamabad, Apr 14, 2025: Pakistan’s State Bank Governor, Jameel Ahmad, shared a significant development on Monday, revealing that workers’ remittances surged to an all-time high of $4.1 billion in March 2025. This robust performance has led the central bank to revise its forecast for the year upwards.
At the launch of Financial Literacy Week at the Pakistan Stock Exchange, Governor Ahmad shared that the SBP now expects remittances to reach $38 billion by the end of fiscal year 2025, an increase from the previous projection of $36 billion.
This solid remittance inflow has instilled confidence that Pakistan’s current account will maintain a surplus for the rest of the fiscal year.
“This is the strongest external performance in two decades, with a notable surplus expected,” Ahmad stated.
In line with the optimistic remittance outlook, the Governor also updated the forecast for Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.
He expects reserves to rise to $14 billion by June 2025, an increase from the prior estimate of $13 billion.
Despite a $2 billion decrease in reserves over recent months due to debt repayments, reducing the reserves to $10.6 billion, the SBP maintains a positive outlook.
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Ahmad also highlighted that Pakistan is on track to secure $4-5 billion from external funding sources, including global financial institutions, by June 2025, which will further enhance the reserves position.
The Governor addressed concerns surrounding the economy, specifically rising imports, which have climbed to $5.7 billion monthly.
“Those questioning whether there are import restrictions or if the economy is stagnant should take a look at the data,” he remarked.
For the current fiscal year, the SBP Governor projected economic growth of 3%. However, he noted that growth could have reached 4.2% if agricultural output had maintained last year’s strong performance of 8%.
Turning to inflation, the Governor warned of accelerating price increases starting this month, following the record-low inflation of 0.7% in March.
His comments at the PSX underscore Pakistan’s improving external financial position, though challenges remain in sustaining growth and managing inflation in the months ahead.
