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Pakistan's current account woes are going from bad to worse, with the country posting a record high monthly deficit of $2.55bn in January. The deficit has expanded mainly due to soaring imports, falling worker's remittances and surging debt payments. State Bank data shows that the trade deficit rose 9pc while remittances dropped 15pc month-over-month. Debt payments more than doubled in the second quarter of the present fiscal to $4.07bn from $1.66bn a year ago, according to a report. However, the bank doesn't look too worried about the widening current account gap. The January deficit surged owing to "imports in kind like Covid vaccines that are fully financed", the bank tweeted. Excluding imports in kind, it added, the deficit should have been around $1.6bn, much lower than $1.93bn for December. The bank estimates the current account deficit to stay at 4pc relative to GDP for the fiscal year. Financial analysts say the ratio could widen to 4.25pc. So does this mean that all is well with the external sector? No. Medium to long-term risks to external sector stability remain. For one, oil price volatility, which is rising due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, continues to pose a major threat to Pakistan's fragile capacity to pay its bills and debts.