SBP reserves rise $39 million to $21.44 billion
The State Bank of Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves rose by $39 million in the week ended September 25, 2026, reaching $21.439 billion, according to weekly data released by the central bank on Thursday. Total liquid foreign reserves stood at $26.77 billion, with commercial banks holding $5.33 billion. Reserves are closely watched in Pakistan as a gauge of the country's external buffer and its ability to meet import and debt obligations.
The latest increase follows a rise of about $11 million in the previous week, when SBP reserves stood at around $21.40 billion. The week before that recorded a far larger jump of $3.06 billion, largely supported by proceeds from Pakistan's Eurobond issuance.
Earlier, SBP reserves rose by $1.21 billion in the week ended September 4 to $18.33 billion, following inflows from government commercial loans. The central bank's holdings have moved sharply in both directions in recent months: they declined by $229 million in late July on external debt repayments, having risen by $1.94 billion the previous week on the back of government-related inflows.
In June, SBP reserves increased by $611 million to $16.53 billion, mainly due to inflows from multilateral institutions. A $1.21 billion weekly increase to $17.08 billion in the week ended May 15 was supported by funds received from the International Monetary Fund under its Extended Fund Facility and Resilience and Sustainability Facility, along with proceeds from a Panda bond. A further weekly increase of $730 million was recorded previously, following proceeds from another Eurobond issuance.
