Overseas workers sent $3.63 billion home to Pakistan in July, the State Bank of Pakistan’s data showed Monday, as remittances continued to prop up an economy grappling with chronic external imbalances.
The inflows rose 4.5% from June and 13% from a year earlier, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. For the full fiscal year through June, remittances climbed 9% to $41.6 billion, up from $38.3 billion the prior year.
The numbers offer a rare bright spot for the $375 billion economy, where remittances rival textile exports as the single largest source of foreign exchange. They also provide a critical buffer for households squeezed by inflation and a sluggish job market.
Topline Securities, a Karachi-based brokerage, forecast remittances of $40.1 billion for the current fiscal year, a modest pullback from the record pace but still historically elevated.
Saudi Arabia remained the dominant corridor, with Pakistani expatriates there wiring $914 million in July, up 11% year-on-year. The United Arab Emirates followed at $737 million, also up 11% from a year ago, though down 7% from June.
Inflows from the United Kingdom surged 23% to $555 million, while the United States contributed $317 million, a 7% monthly gain. Remittances from European Union countries rose 11% month-on-month to $462 million.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed the figures, calling overseas Pakistanis “a valuable component of our national economic mainstream.”
The government has leaned heavily on incentives and formal banking channels to capture more flows, part of a strategy to shore up foreign reserves and keep the current account deficit in check. With energy imports still swallowing the bulk of the country’s dollar earnings, the remittance pipeline remains a lifeline Islamabad can ill afford to lose.
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