Pakistan in January 2026: the most important developments in economy
In January 2026, the economic news touching Pakistan was dominated by the International Monetary Fund's update of its global outlook on 19 January. The Fund projected 3.3 percent world growth for 2026, slightly higher than before, and attributed the upgrade largely to an AI boom. It warned that rising trade tensions and a possible faltering of that boom threaten the projection. Forecasts for India and South Korea were raised, the outlook for Italy was trimmed, and Poland's growth was expected to exceed earlier estimates. The Fund also flagged the exposure of South Korea's dollar-denominated assets and called Australia's inflation drawn-out. The Fund's chief commented on further funding for Ukraine, and the Fund urged Sri Lanka to keep spending transparent and reprioritised as it weighed cyclone recovery costs.
Within Pakistan, on 14 January the country signed a deal with World Liberty Financial, a crypto company linked to the Trump family, to explore a dollar-linked stablecoin for cross-border payments, with an affiliate of the firm involved. On the same day Finance Minister Aurangzeb said some firms had left Pakistan because of high taxes and energy costs. At the end of the month Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke about the price Pakistan paid for multi-billion dollar bailouts.
Trade and regional links also featured. Direct flights between Dhaka and Karachi resumed on 29 January after 14 years. Pakistani exporters warned that a new EU-India trade deal could narrow the advantage that Pakistan's GSP+ status gives it with the European Union. Pakistan's largest oil refiner was considering raising US crude imports to as much as $1 billion for peak summer demand. Pakistan launched a joint e-mining platform with China and a digital partnership with Sri Lanka.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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