ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Pakistan’s trade deficit ballooned 44% in July 2025 as imports jumped at nearly double the pace of exports, The News reported citing official data on Thursday. The development highlights renewed pressure on the country’s external balance at the start of the new fiscal year, Meanwhile, exports climbed 16.9% year-on-year to $2.7 billion in July, up 8.9% from June, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Imports, however, surged 29.3% from a year earlier to $5.4 billion and 12.4% month-on-month, swelling the monthly trade gap to $2.75 billion from $1.91 billion a year earlier and $2.37 billion in June. For the fiscal year 2024-25, the overall trade deficit grew 9.3% to $26.35 billion, as exports rose 4.5% to $32 billion while imports climbed 6.6% to $58.4 billion. The PBS also reported the services trade performance data for July-June 2024-25. According to the trade statistics for international services during this period, local companies imported more services than they exported. The trade deficit in services witnessed a decline of 15.84%, reaching $2.62 billion in FY25 compared to $3.1 billion in FY24. In FY25, the economy hired the services of foreign companies for $11 billion and exported services abroad for $8.4 billion. Whereas, in FY24, the country’s services exports were recorded at $7.68 billion, and imports stood at $10.8 billion, representing an increase of 9.23% in services exports and a 2.01% increase in imports.