KARACHI: The rupee ended nearly unchanged against the dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday.The rupee closed at 278.8 per dollar, compared with the previous closing rate of 278.81.
Dealers said the local unit remained flat due to a balance between the demand and supply of dollars in the market.The State Bank of Pakistan bought $728 million from the interbank foreign exchange market in January.
During the last 12 months (February 2025 to January 2026), the central bank purchased a cumulative $7.45 billion from the market to build up its reserves and make external debt repayments.
The central bank expects its reserves to reach $18 billion by the end of June.
“Despite significant debt repayments, the SBP’s FX reserves as of April 24, 2026, are around $15.8 billion, supported by the issuance of Eurobonds, as Pakistan re-entered international capital markets after a gap of over four years,” the SBP said in the monetary policy statement on Monday.“Lastly, the staff-level agreement was reached with the IMF on March 27, 2026,” it added.
“On the financing side, the government has proactively raised external financing via enhanced bilateral arrangements and issuance of Eurobonds, which cushioned the impact of the recent debt and liability repayments on the SBP’s FX reserves,” the central bank said.“Going forward, the Committee emphasised the need for further strengthening in FX buffers amidst the uncertain global economic conditions.”
