KARACHI: Pakistan has posted a full-year current account surplus for the first time in 14 years, alongside record-breaking performance in its equity market, reflecting broad signs of economic stabilization under the country’s $7 billion IMF program approved in September 2024.

Khurram Schehzad, adviser to the finance ministry, shared the data on social media, highlighting a $328 million current account surplus in June 2025.

“Country’s Current Account (CA) for June 2025 closes in $328Mn Surplus, taking full-year Surplus to over $2.1Bn — annual Surplus recorded after 14 years, and the largest Surplus in 22 years,” the adviser wrote on X. 

He said textile exports rose by 7.4 percent year-on-year to $17.9 billion, foreign direct investment increased 5 percent to $2.5 billion, and remittances surged 27 percent to a record $38 billion.

The Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) dropped further to 96.6, enhancing the Pakistani rupee’s competitiveness against the dollar, which would support the country’s exports and keep the external account in check, Schehzad said.

He also cited a rally in the Pakistan Stock Exchange, where the benchmark KSE-100 index crossed 140,000 points for the first time, with market capitalization exceeding Rs16.8 trillion (about $60 billion). He noted that Pakistan is currently ranked the fourth-best performing equity market globally in July 2025 to date.

According to Topline Securities, the FY25 current account surplus of $2.1 billion (0.5 percent of GDP) marks a sharp turnaround from a $2 billion deficit in FY24, driven by a 27 percent increase in remittances and a 16 percent drop in services deficit. The goods deficit, however, grew to $27 billion.

Topline added that the surplus was bolstered by record-high March remittances of over $4 billion and structural reforms that reduced the exchange rate differential between official and informal channels.

Looking ahead, the brokerage house expects a mild current account deficit of $0.5–1.5 billion (0.1–0.3 percent of GDP) in FY26.

The economic turnaround follows structural reforms implemented under the IMF program, including currency market liberalization, energy pricing reforms and taxation measures aimed at unlocking further global financing and restoring investor confidence.