ISLAMABAD, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's exports increased 9.59 percent month on month to 2.7 billion U.S. dollars in May, up from 2.47 billion dollars in April, according to trade data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday.

Imports declined 21.45 percent month on month to 5.29 billion dollars in May from 6.73 billion dollars in the previous month, narrowing the monthly trade deficit by 39.43 percent to 2.59 billion dollars.

On a year-on-year basis, exports rose 1.26 percent from 2.67 billion dollars in May 2025 to 2.7 billion dollars in May 2026. Imports, meanwhile, fell 6.63 percent from 5.66 billion dollars to 5.29 billion dollars over the same period.

Despite the improvement in May, Pakistan's exports during the first 11 months of fiscal year 2025-26 (July-May) declined 5.6 percent to 27.9 billion dollars from 29.56 billion dollars in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

Imports increased 5.94 percent to 62.66 billion dollars during the period.

As a result, the country's trade deficit widened 17.48 percent to 34.76 billion dollars in the July-May period, the PBS data showed.

The PBS said the figures are provisional and may be revised after the inclusion of additional customs data from the Federal Board of Revenue. ■