KARACHI: The central bank purchased $6.9 billion from the interbank market over the last 12 months, with a significant $1 billion bought in September alone.
The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) net foreign exchange (FX) interventions stood at $257 million in August.
These FX interventions are believed to be aimed at increasing the country’s foreign exchange reserves and repaying some foreign debt.
Topline Securities, citing data from the SBP, reported on Tuesday that the central bank purchased a whopping $1 billion worth of foreign currency (USD) from the interbank FX market in September. This brings the total interventions over the past 12 months (from October 2024 to September 2025) to $6.9 billion.
Additionally, in September, the SBP repaid $500 million in international bond payments. The bank indicated in its last monetary policy analyst briefing that interventions and purchases were increased from September.
The SBP’s foreign exchange reserves are expected to increase steadily, reaching $17 billion by the end of June. This assumption is based on planned official inflows, primarily from IMF loan programs, as well as potential issuances of Eurobonds, Panda Bonds, and Sukuk in international markets, along with rollovers of deposits and loans from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and China. As of December 19, the central bank’s reserves stood at $15.9 billion.
Pakistan’s current account is projected to reach 0-1 per cent of GDP in FY26. Remittances are anticipated to exceed $40 billion, which will help ease pressure on the current account.
The country’s total external debt servicing for FY26 amounts to $25.8 billion, which includes $21.4 billion in principal and $4 billion in interest. So far, $4.4 billion has been repaid, and rollovers of approximately $5.3 billion have been secured. From the remaining $15.3 billion, around $9.3 billion is expected to be rolled over.
