KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $70 million to $11.516 billion during the week ended on May 23, the central bank announced on Thursday.

The SBP needs to generate an additional $2.5bn to reach the revised $14bn target by the end of the current fiscal year. How­ever, the currency experts expressed doubt that the SBP could achieve the goal in the last month of FY25.

Pakistan expects to receive $1.4bn in climate funding already approved by the IMF under its Re­­s­ilience and Sustain­ability Facility (RSF) and the financial sector believes that Pakistan has reached a deal with the United Arab Emirates for $1bn.

No official figure is available about the required amount of dollars for debt servicing in the last month of the current fiscal year. Bankers believe the country still requires over $5bn.

According to media reports, China has assured Pakistan of the rollover of another $3.5bn loan. There is no official confirmation. Pakistan’s total foreign exchange rose to $16.636bn, including $5.12bn held by commercial banks.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2025