IMF inflows lift Pakistan’s reserves to highest level in four years as SBP holdings cross $17 billion
Pakistan’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves rose to a four-year high of nearly $22.60 billion, boosted by inflows from the International Monetary Fund, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
The country’s total reserves increased by $1.253 billion on a weekly basis to reach $22.589 billion for the week ended May 15, 2026, compared with $21.336 billion recorded a week earlier.
According to historical data available on the central bank’s website, Pakistan’s reserves had previously stood at $22.28 billion on March 11, 2022.
The SBP’s official foreign exchange reserves climbed by $1.214 billion to $17.081 billion during the week under review, up from $15.867 billion a week earlier.
The increase followed the receipt of fresh IMF disbursements under Pakistan’s ongoing financial support programmes.
The IMF Executive Board completed the third review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) during its May 8 meeting and approved a disbursement of SDR 760 million for Pakistan. The board also approved the second tranche of SDR 154 million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
“Accordingly, SBP has received SDR 914 million (equivalent to about US$1.3 billion) under the EFF and RSF in value May 12, 2026 from the IMF,” the central bank said in a statement.
Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks registered a modest increase of $37 million, rising to $5.508 billion by May 15 from $5.469 billion a week earlier.
The latest rise in reserves is expected to strengthen Pakistan’s external account position and support investor confidence amid ongoing economic reforms and IMF-backed stabilisation measures.
