Pakistan Raises Fuel Prices Sharply as Current Account Swings Back to Deficit

Pakistan raised the price of petrol by 5.44 rupees and diesel by 31.05 rupees a litre with immediate effect for the next three days, passing on higher import premiums and global prices that followed the renewed conflict in the Middle East, Dawn reported. The unusual three-day pricing window reflects how volatile fuel costs have become as the war moves crude prices.

The increase comes as the economy has just returned to an external deficit. Pakistan ended its 2026 fiscal year with a current-account deficit of 139 million dollars, reversing a surplus of 1.838 billion dollars the year before, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. Foreign direct investment fell 34 percent to 1.64 billion dollars over the year.

The two figures are linked. A country that imports most of its fuel sees its trade balance deteriorate directly when oil rises, and higher pump prices then add to domestic inflation that raises the cost of living for households and complicates monetary policy. Weaker foreign investment, meanwhile, leaves fewer inflows to finance the widening gap.

For a frontier economy that has repeatedly relied on external support, the combination of a Gulf war and a return to deficit tightens an already narrow financing position.