SBP Reserves Climb to Highest Since 2022 on New IMF Loan

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have climbed to their highest level in more than three years after fresh disbursements from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), easing pressure on the country’s external accounts and lifting import cover to around three months. Total liquid foreign reserves reached $21.089 billion as of December 12, up $1.477 billion from the previous week, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday. Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan rose to $15.9 billion, their highest level since March 2022 and above the December target of $15.5 billion. “During the week ended on December 12, 2025, the SBP’s FX reserves increased by $1,300 million to $15,886.8 million,” the central bank said in a statement. It attributed the jump mainly to the receipt of SDR 914 million (about $1.2 billion) from the IMF under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). Reserves held by commercial banks also improved, rising by $177 million to $5.202 billion during the week. The increase signals a significant strengthening of Pakistan’s external financial position following protracted balance-of-payments stress in recent years. With the latest IMF inflows, the SBP’s reserves are now sufficient to cover roughly three months of imports, a key threshold closely watched by markets and rating agencies. The central bank said it expects reserves to rise further, projecting they will reach about $17.8 billion by June 2026, assuming planned official inflows materialise. SBP’s ongoing foreign currency purchases from the market have also supported the build-up, it noted. According to the SBP, Pakistan’s gross external debt repayments for FY26 amount to $25.8 billion. Of this, $9.7 billion has already been paid or rolled over, leaving a net repayable amount of $6.9 billion for the year, excluding further rollovers. In its monetary policy statement issued on Monday, the SBP observed that imports are continuing to grow in line with improving economic activity, while workers’ remittances remain strong. Exports, however, have faced headwinds.