Pakistan posted a Current Account Surplus (CAS) of US$654mn in March 2023 against a deficit of US$36mn in February 2023. This is the first monthly surplus since November 2020, thanks to tighter monetary and fiscal measures and administrative steps taken by the government.

Remittances jumped 27% MoM to US$2.5bn likely due to Ramadan and the reduction in the gap between Interbank and Open Market/Kerb rates.

Foreign exchange reserves of the country in Mar 2023 were up 12% MoM to US$9.76bn whereas reserves held by SBP were also up 9% MoM to US$4.20bn. The increase in FX reserves is due to debt rollover from Chinese commercial banks.

CPI inflation in Mar 2023 surged to 35.4% against 31.6% in Feb 2023.

Courtesy – Topline Research