SBP’s Forex Reserves Experience Marginal Growth: Up by $16 Million

Islamabad: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recorded a slight uptick in its foreign exchange reserves, increasing by $16 million in the past week, as per the data released on Thursday, pushing the total to $9.1 billion by May 31.

The combined liquid foreign reserves, including both SBP and commercial banks, stood at $14.2 billion, with commercial banks holding $5.1 billion in net foreign reserves.

While the central bank did not cite specific reasons for the increase, its statement mentioned a rise of $16 million in reserves, bringing them to $9,109.5 million as of May 31.

This comes after a $63 million decline in SBP reserves the previous week. Notably, the previous month saw a substantial surge in the central bank’s reserves, climbing by $1.114 billion and surpassing the $9 billion mark for the first time in nearly two years.

This notable increase was attributed to the receipt of the final $1.1 billion tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under its $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement.