SBP forex reserves increase by $106m to $10.8bn

KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank rose by $106 million to $10.808 billion in the week ending October 4, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported on Thursday.

The total reserves of the country increased by $64 million to $16.047 billion. However, the reserves of commercial banks dropped by $42 million to $5.239 billion.The SBP’s reserves are enough to cover more than two months of imports.

The forex reserves, which were gradually improving, received a significant boost after receiving the first tranche of $1.03 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility last month. The SBP’s reserves have increased by $1.418 billion so far this fiscal year. Furthermore, the reduction in the current account deficit supported by robust remittances, improved exports and healthy Roshan Digital Account inflows also led to the rise in the forex reserves.

Remittances from Pakistanis working abroad increased 29 per cent year-on-year to $2.8 billion in September. These inflows stood at $8.8 billion in July-September FY25, a 39 per cent increase from a year ago.Owing to its stable reserves, Pakistan has been able to pay foreign investors about $2 billion in profits and dividends, as well as settle outstanding import backlogs and letters of credit.