KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank rose by $41 million to $16.341 billion during the week ending March 6, the State Bank of Pakistan said on Thursday.
The country’s total liquid foreign reserves increased by $164 million to $21.598 billion. The reserves of commercial banks also rose by $123 million to $5.257 billion.The latest FX numbers come after the negotiations between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund for the $1 billion loan tranche remained inconclusive.
While significant progress was made during the discussions, they will continue in the coming days, including to more thoroughly assess the impact of recent global developments on Pakistan's economy and the Extended Fund Facility-supported programme, the IMF said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Discussions also covered the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on Pakistan’s economic outlook, the balance of payments and external financing needs amid volatile and rising energy prices and tighter global financial conditions,” the IMF added. The ongoing interbank foreign exchange purchases continued to help build up the SBP’s FX reserves amid weak official inflows, the SBP said in a monetary policy statement on Monday.
“Going forward, the external environment has become more challenging due to the ongoing Middle East conflict,” it added. The SBP expects the current account deficit to remain within the earlier projected range of 0-1 per cent of GDP in FY26. However, it emphasised the timely realisation of planned official inflows to achieve the targeted buildup in SBP’s FX reserves to $18 billion by June 2026. The SBP has to repay $4-4.5 billion for the remainder of FY26 and is prepared to handle the upcoming Eurobond maturity in April 2026, which amounts to $1.3 billion.
