Pakistan Receives Record-Breaking Remittances in March: SBP Governor

Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Jameel Ahmad, announced on Monday that workers’ remittances reached an unprecedented $4.1 billion in March 2025, prompting the central bank to revise its annual projection upward. Speaking at the Pakistan Stock Exchange during the launch of financial literacy week, the Governor said the SBP now expects remittances to total $38 billion for fiscal year 2025, up from the previous estimate of $36 billion. The increase in inflow of remittances has bolstered Ahmad’s confidence that Pakistan’s current account will maintain a surplus throughout the fiscal year. “This represents the strongest performance on the external account in two decades, with a substantial surplus expected,” the governor stated. Remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis increased by 37 percent year-on-year (YoY) to $4.055 billion in March 2025 compared to inflows of $3.124 billion registered in the previous month. Remittances have hit a record high, driven by growing confidence in the stability of the Pakistani Rupee due to a narrower gap between interbank and open market exchange rates, Head of Research and Senior VP at JS Global Waqas Ghani told ProPakistani. On a month-on-month basis, the inflows in March 2025 increased by 30 percent, according to the data on remittances released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Waqas added, “This stability is largely credited to stricter foreign exchange regulations. Additionally, a recent surge in immigration, particularly to Gulf countries, has boosted remittance inflows”. A breakdown of the numbers shows that the highest inflows were registered from Saudi Arabia, coming in at $987 million, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at $842 million, the United Kingdom (UK) at $684 million, the United States (US) at $419 million, and European Union (EU) countries at $433million. The inflows from Saudi Arabia were up 40 percent YoY, while the inflows from UAE, and the US were up by 54 percent and 12 percent respectively. The inflows from European Union (EU) countries registered an increase of 38 percent while that from the UK increased by 48 percent. In addition to the remittance forecast, Ahmad revised the projection for foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP to $14 billion by the end of June 2025, an increase from the earlier estimate of $13 billion. This optimistic outlook comes despite a recent $2 billion decline in foreign exchange reserves over the past couple of months due to debt repayments, bringing the current level to $10.6 billion. The central bank chief anticipates Pakistan will secure between $4-5 billion from external resources, including global financial institutions, by the end of June, helping to strengthen the reserves position. Ahmad also addressed concerns about economic activity, noting that imports have risen to $5.7 billion monthly. “Those questioning whether import restrictions exist or if economic activity is stagnating should examine the data,” he remarked. For the current fiscal year, the SBP governor projects economic growth at 3%. He added that growth could have reached 4.2% had agricultural output maintained the previous year’s robust level of 8%. On the inflation front, the Governor cautioned that price increases would begin to accelerate from the current month, following March’s six-decade low inflation reading of 0.7%. The governor’s remarks at the PSX highlight Pakistan’s improving external position, even as challenges remain in sustaining economic growth and managing inflation in the coming months.