ISLAMABAD: State Bank of Pakistan has indicated signs of improvement in the country’s economy after an increase of US$1.21 billion or 7.65% week-on-week in its foreign currency reserves, bringing the reserves up to US$17.08 billion for the week ending May 15, 2026. The impressive week-on-week rise resulted in national liquidity reserves amounting to US$22.59 billion.
These figures, which come from the State Bank of Pakistan, mark one of the most substantial weekly reserves builds witnessed in recent times by Pakistan – an occurrence that observers monitoring the balance of payments situation of the country would certainly find quite interesting.
Commercial Banks Show Profits Too
In addition to the figure shown by the central bank, there were also profits from commercial banks that had an impact on the overall reserve situation. The reserves for commercial banks increased to $5.51 billion, an increase of $38.2 million, or 0.70%, compared to last week.
The SBP foreign exchange reserves number holds more significance from a policy perspective compared to the commercial banks component since it directly relates to the ability of the central bank to handle exchange rates, pay down foreign debt, and provide adequate coverage for imports.
Performance over Fiscal Year Paints a More Persuasive Picture
The impressive thing about the weeklies is their sheer magnitude. But what makes the whole tale truly impressive is seeing the complete figures of the fiscal year starting from July 2025. In fact, the SBP foreign exchange reserves have grown by $2.58 billion or 17.78% during the current fiscal year so far.
However, it is to be noted that during the present calendar year, there has been an increase in foreign exchange reserves of SBP worth $1.02 billion, which shows that reserve generation is continuing with momentum.
Mixed Signals from SBP’s April Monthly Data
The SBP has also provided its monthly April 2026 data along with the weekly data and presented an even more mixed scenario than the weekly one. The reserves of the SBP in terms of foreign exchange fell down by $531.20 million during April 2026 to reach at $15.85 billion.
The total amount of liquid foreign reserves at the end of April 2026 was $20.80 billion, compared to $21.33 billion for the previous month. This resulted in a reduction of $528.30 million per month, which seems to have been countered by a strong performance in May.
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Comparing Year on Year Shows Extent of Economic Turnaround
Compared to the corresponding period last year, the foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have become much better. The foreign exchange reserves of SBP were US$10.27 billion in the month of April 2025. But the foreign exchange reserves increased to US$15.85 billion in the month of April 2026. It indicates an improvement of $5.58 billion or 54.26% during the previous year.
Likewise, the foreign exchange reserves of the country also performed excellently. The total liquid foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have shown an increase of US$ 6.04 billion, which is equal to 40.95 percent as compared to the same month last year.
