The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) purchased a net USD 7.109 billion from the interbank foreign exchange market during the first 10 months of fiscal year 2025-26, extending its reserve accumulation drive as stronger external inflows improved the country's external position.
Data released by the SBP's Domestic Markets and Monetary Management Department showed the central bank's cumulative net foreign exchange intervention during July 2025 through April 2026 increased from USD 6.660 billion in the corresponding period of FY25. The increase of USD 449 million represents a year-over-year rise of about 6.7%.
The latest data follows comments by SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad this week that the country's foreign exchange reserves had increased sixfold to USD 18.4 billion by the end of June 2026 from February 2023. He said reserves are projected to rise further to USD 20.2 billion by December 2026.
According to the SBP, the central bank made a net purchase of USD 635 million in April 2026, compared with USD 667 million in March, a month-over-month decline of USD 32 million.
However, April's intervention remained well above the USD 473 million purchased in April 2025, an increase of about USD 162 million from a year earlier.
The data showed that the SBP's reserve accumulation remained strong throughout FY26, although monthly purchases varied.
The largest interventions were recorded in September 2025 at USD 1.023 billion, October 2025 at USD 1.033 billion and December 2025 at USD 1.024 billion, with each month exceeding the USD 1 billion mark. Earlier in the fiscal year, the central bank purchased USD 189 million in July, USD 257 million in August, USD 728 million in January, USD 933 million in February, USD 667 million in March and USD 635 million in April.
By comparison, during the same period of FY25, monthly interventions peaked at USD 1.151 billion in November 2024 before moderating sharply during the second half of the fiscal year.
The SBP defines net foreign exchange intervention as the value of outright and swap purchases of foreign exchange minus outright and swap sales conducted with commercial banks in the interbank market.
Analysts said the continued net purchases suggest the central bank has taken advantage of stronger foreign exchange inflows to rebuild reserves while allowing the exchange rate to remain market-determined.
The intervention data is consistent with Pakistan's improving external sector. The SBP projects workers' remittances to reach about USD 44 billion in FY27, while exports are expected to increase on stronger rice shipments and continued growth in information technology exports. The central bank also expects the current account deficit to remain within 0% to 1% of gross domestic product in FY27 despite stronger domestic economic activity.
The steady accumulation of foreign exchange reserves has helped improve investor confidence and external financing conditions. Pakistan recently secured a sovereign credit rating upgrade from S&P Global Ratings, reflecting improving macroeconomic stability.
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