KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank rose by $13 million to $16.354 billion during the week ending March 13, the State Bank of Pakistan said on Thursday.
The country’s total liquid foreign reserves increased by $106 million to $21.704 billion. The reserves of commercial banks also rose by $93 million to $5.351 billion.The SBP’s reserves continued to rise due to the improvement in the current account balance and the central bank’s ongoing dollar purchases from the interbank market.
Pakistan recorded a $427 million current account surplus in February, thanks to the nation’s resilient remittances and lower imports. The surplus was $68 million in January this year, while the current account posted a deficit of $85 million in February last year. The country ran a $700 million deficit during the first eight months of this fiscal year, compared with a $479 million surplus in the same period last year.
However, soaring oil prices due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East raise concerns about Pakistan’s inflation and the outlook for its external sector.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.
