The SBP (State Bank of Pakistan) has released the figures of the balance of payments (BoP) of Pakistan for the first five months of 2025-26. The objective of this article is to highlight any significant developments.

The good news is that there was a surplus in the current account of the balance of payments of USD 100 million in November. However, it is much smaller than the surplus of USD 709 million in November 2024.

There is a significant deficit of USD 812 million from July to November 2025. Here again, there is in sharp contrast with the surplus of USD 503 million in the corresponding months of 2024-25.

The primary reason for the transformation from a current account surplus to a deficit is a big worsening in the trade deficit in goods by USD 3 billion, from USD 9.8 billion to USD 12.8 billion. This is an increase in the deficit of as much as 30 percent.

The trade deficit in goods is higher in July to November due both to a decline in exports and a rise in imports. Exports have fallen by over 3 percent, while import have risen by over 11 percent. The decline in exports in November was larger at almost 6 percent, while imports showed faster growth in the month of as much as 31 percent. This is despite the significant fall in the international prices of oil.

The decline in exports is primarily a reflection of the big fall in rice exports. Between July and October, the quantity of rice exports has declined by as much as 37 percent. Within imports, the big increases have been in palm oil of 29 percent, in machinery of 21 percent and of as much as 111 percent in the transport group. Clearly, the improvement in the foreign........

© Business Recorder