Remittances from overseas workers rose to a new record level of US$1.1bn in March. The previous highest level of inflows was US$993m, recorded in August 2010; the March figure represented a 38% year-on-year increase. In the first nine months of 2010/11 remittances totalled US$8bn, to record a 22% year-on-year increase. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP, the central bank) attributed the increase to the Pakistan Remittance Initiative, which appears to have been highly effective in encouraging people to remit funds through formal channels rather than via informal networks of money-changers. The increase may also be a reflection of the difficult economic circumstances in Pakistan, which may be encouraging overseas Pakistanis to send more money home. Although current rates of growth in remittances appear unsustainable, remittances seem set to exceed the government's target for the current fiscal year of US$11bn.

Rising remittances enabled Pakistan to record a current-account surplus of US$99m in the first nine months of 2010/11, compared with a deficit of US$3.1bn in the year-earlier period. In March the monthly current-account surplus stood at US$347m. However, the trade deficit has scarcely changed. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year Pakistan recorded a trade deficit of US$11.2bn, representing a slight increase from US$11bn in the year-earlier period.