Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves received a significant boost this week, rising by more than $1 billion, according to fresh data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.

As of May 16, the SBP’s foreign currency reserves stood at $11.446 billion, marking an increase of $1.04 billion from $10.403 billion recorded on May 9. The overall liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by commercial banks, reached $16.648 billion, up $1.03 billion from the previous week.

However, net reserves held by banks other than the SBP saw a slight dip, falling by $9 million to $5.202 billion.

The central bank attributed the surge in reserves to the receipt of the second tranche of SDR 760 million (equivalent to $1,023 million) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program on May 13, 2025.