Reporting snapshot · 19 January 2026. The figures are drawn from State Bank of Pakistan data as reported by Samaa TV and attributed to the central bank and the economists it cites.
What happened
Pakistan’s current account slipped back into deficit in December, ending a brief surplus, as imports outpaced exports, according to State Bank of Pakistan data reported on 19 January 2026. The central bank recorded a current account deficit of $244 million for December, a turnaround from November’s surplus of $100 million, which had offered only short-lived relief for the external balance.
Why it matters
Economists cited in the reporting said the reversal was driven mainly by rising imports while exports failed to grow at the same pace, widening pressure on the external balance despite earlier signs of stabilisation. Over the first six months of the current fiscal year, the current account deficit reached $1.17 billion, compared with a surplus of $1 billion during the same period a year earlier. Analysts warned that sustained deficits could increase pressure on the rupee and on external financing needs, and said corrective measures on trade and productivity would be needed to stop the gap widening further. Reserves, meanwhile, had risen to $16.055bn in the week ending 2 January, the highest since FY21, and seafood exports rose 22% to $253m in the first half of FY26.
What is still uncertain
The data release did not disaggregate how much of the December import increase reflected seasonal demand, higher input costs or one-off payments, and the central bank did not set out a revised full-year projection in the figures reported. It was not clear by the editorial cutoff how the next monthly reading would move.
