SBP reserves rise $13m

Total foreign currency deposits hit $22.5b; gold surges Rs11,300 per tola

KARACHI:

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased $13 million to $17.04 billion during the week ended on July 31, 2026, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday.

Pakistan's total liquid foreign currency reserves stood at $22.47 billion by the end of July, of which the SBP had $17.04 billion while commercial banks held net foreign currency deposits of $5.43 billion. The central bank gave no reason for the increase in its reserves. Arif Habib Limited posted on X that Pakistan's total foreign exchange reserves rose $32.5 million to $22.5 billion. Similarly, the commercial banks' reserves went up $19.4 million and reached $5.4 billion. It mentioned that the current foreign currency holdings at the SBP provided an import cover for 2.51 months.

According to a recent news report, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad said that the central bank bought around $9 billion from the open market in the last fiscal year to cushion the foreign exchange reserves. Total purchases during the past three years reached $28 billion.

The SBP's monetary policy statement, released last week, mentioned that workers' remittances were likely to grow as compared to last year and continue financing a large part of a projected higher trade deficit. With the realisation of official inflows and some improvement in private flows, the SBP's FX reserves are targeted to increase to $20.20 billion by the end of December 2026.

In the precious metals market, the price of gold soared Rs11,300 to Rs449,236 per tola, reflecting a sharp upward movement in line with movements in the international market, where gold hit a seven-week high earlier on Thursday.

However, the metal reversed course and fell later in the global market as a rise in oil markets following reports that Iran was reviewing restrictions on "hostile" vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz reignited inflation fears, Reuters reported. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $4,233.64 per ounce by 1640 GMT. Prices had hit their highest level since June 18 earlier in the session, it said.