Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) saw a significant increase of $620 million, reaching $12.04 billion as of November 29, according to data released on Thursday.
The country’s total liquid foreign reserves now stand at $16.62 billion, with commercial banks holding $4.58 billion in net reserves.
The SBP attributed the increase primarily to a $500 million inflow from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which boosted the central bank’s reserves to a level not seen in over two and a half years. The last time reserves surpassed $12 billion was on March 25, 2022.
This follows a $131 million increase in reserves the previous week.
In October, the ADB approved a $500 million loan for Pakistan aimed at supporting climate change resilience and disaster risk reduction. The loan, under the Climate and Disaster Resilience Enhancement Program (CDREP), is designed to improve Pakistan’s disaster preparedness, planning, and response capabilities. The funds from the ADB loan were reflected in the SBP’s reserves for the week ending November 29.
