SBP forex reserves rise by $620m to $12.04bn on foreign inflows

KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased by $620 million to $12.04 billion in the week ending November 29, following a loan disbursement from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“The increase is mainly on account of the official inflow of $500 million from the ADB,” the SBP said in a statement on Thursday.The SBP’s reserves are sufficient to cover more than two months of imports.

The country’s forex reserves rose by $544 million to $16.62 billion. However, the reserves of commercial banks decreased by $76 million to $4.582 billion.Factors like an improved external current account, strong worker remittances, higher exports, and the first tranche of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility programme contribute to the continuous rise in foreign exchange reserves. The reserves were also bolstered by the SBP’s persistent dollar buying from the market. The official disbursement data for the July-October period of fiscal year 2024-25, which was made public by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, indicates that foreign financing has not yet been expedited.

With the exception of the IMF’s first loan tranche, the ministry stated that less than $1.7 billion was disbursed by international bilateral and multilateral lenders in the first four months of FY25.The overall distribution, including the IMF instalment, was $2.7 billion, down around $3.1 billion, or 55 per cent, from $5.8 billion during the same period of last fiscal year.