Islamabad: Pakistan reported a current account surplus of $75 million in August 2024, driven by strong remittance inflows which surpassed the trade deficit, yet this gain was tempered by a revision in July’s figures that kept the cumulative deficit for the first two months of the fiscal year at $171 million.

According to JS Global, the surplus achieved in August could have exceeded $500 million if the trade deficit reported by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had aligned with the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) figures, which traditionally report a trade deficit approximately $370 million lower than SBP’s numbers. The discrepancy between these two reports significantly impacts the financial outlook, with the trade deficit under SBP noted at a higher value than PBS’s reported $1.8 billion.

The revision of July 2024’s current account deficit from $162 million to $246 million further diminishes the impact of August’s surplus. Forecasts for the fiscal year 2025 suggest that the current account balance may stabilize at -0.2% of GDP, assuming the trade deficit continues to be offset by remittance inflows.