SBP buys over USD11bn in 18 months
RIZWAN BHATTI
KARACHI: Amid improving foreign exchange market fundamentals, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has purchased more than USD 11 billion from the domestic foreign exchange market during the 18 months, reinforcing its external buffers and strengthening reserve adequacy.
The statistics released Tuesday showed that the SBP has shifted to being a net buyer of foreign exchange in the domestic market, rather than a seller as it had been previously to support market supply and stabilize the exchange rate.
According to SBP, cumulatively, it cumulatively purchased USD 11.38 billion from the domestic foreign exchange market between June 2024 and November 2025. Net FX intervention is defined as outright and swap purchases of foreign exchange minus outright and swap sales of foreign exchange by the SBP from/to banks in the interbank foreign exchange market.
SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed in a recent media interaction, mentioned a number of structural reforms in the foreign exchange market, including a major cleanup of exchange companies involved in malpractices and informed that a new monitoring system has been introduced to track every transaction.
The governor said he personally reviews FX market developments on a daily basis and issues directives when needed. The massive purchased of dollar not only reduce the pressure on external account but also helped the SBP to build its foreign exchange reserves despite massive debt servicing during this fiscal year. In addition, home remittances outlook is remained positive and inflows expected to reach around USD 42 billion.
A detailed month-wise analysis shows that the SBP purchased more than USD 1 billion from the foreign exchange market in four separate months. The highest amount, USD 1.15 billion, was acquired in November 2024, followed by USD 1.026 billion in October 2024, USD 1.023 billion in September 2025, and USD 1.033 billion in October 2025.
During the first five months of the current fiscal year, the SBP purchased USD 3.122 billion from the domestic foreign exchange market. Its reserves rose to USD 16.2 billion in the second week of February and, according to projections, are expected to reach USD 20.2 billion by the end of December 2026.
