Forex reserves climb to $18bn as of June 27

KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $3.694 billion to $18.09 billion in the week ending June 27, the central bank said on Thursday, indicating a significant improvement in the country’s current account balance and the realisation of planned inflows.

The forex reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $3.66 billion to $12.73 billion in the reporting week due to receipt of the multilateral and commercial loans, the SBP said in the statement.

The SBP released its weekly forex figures just one day after announcing a significant increase in its reserves. As of June 30, 2025, the end of the fiscal year, the reserves had risen by $5.12 billion, reaching a total of $14.51 billion. This increase was attributed to the realisation of additional inflows.

“China’s rollover of $3.4 billion in deposits and commercial bank loans were the primary reason behind the surge in central bank reserves,” said Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities Limited.

“ADB’s [Asian Development Bank] first-ever policy-based guarantee of up to $500 million has helped to mobilise financing of $1 billion from Middle Eastern commercial banks, while multilateral lending adds $500 million to deposits,” Ashraf added.

According to the SBP, the reserves of commercial banks slightly rose by $30 million to $5.363 billion.

Saad Hanif, head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, said that the sharp increase in SBP reserves suggests that Pakistan successfully met and even exceeded the IMF’s end-June 2025 target of $13.9 billion for net international reserves.

“This was achieved through last-minute inflows from multilateral and commercial sources, likely arranged to signal commitment towards the IMF programme. The buildup not only strengthens external buffers but also supports sentiment in the FX market,” Hanif added.