SBP-held foreign exchange reserves increase $112mn, now stand at $9.4bn

Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $112 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $9.4 billion as of August 23, data released on Thursday showed.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $14.77 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.37 billion.

The central bank did not specify a reason for the increase in the reserves.

“During the week ended on 23-Aug-2024, SBP reserves increased by US$ 112 million to US$ 9,403.4 million,” it said.

Last week, SBP foreign exchange reserves increased by $19 million.

Pakistan is looking to raise up to $4 billion from Middle Eastern commercial banks by the next fiscal year (FY26), SBP governor Jameel Ahmad said in an interview on Tuesday, as the country looks to plug external financing gaps.

Ahmad said Islamabad was also in the “advanced stages” of securing $2 billion in additional external financing required for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approval of the $7-billion bailout programme.

Pakistan and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement on the loan programme in July, subject to approval from the lender’s executive board and it obtaining “timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners”.

Ahmad said he expected the country’s gross financing needs would be smoothly met - both over the next fiscal year and in the medium term.