SBP's FX purchases slump to $154m in May

August 31, 2026 (MLN):  State Bank of Pakistan purchased $154m from the interbank foreign exchange market in May 2026, according to data released by its Domestic Markets & Monetary Management Department.

The latest figure marked a sharp slowdown from April 2026, when SBP had bought $635m, with May's purchases down $481m from the previous month and the lowest monthly figure recorded since January 2025.

On a year-on-year basis, May's purchases were lower than the $522m recorded in May 2025, a decline of around $368m, suggesting comparatively weaker inflow conditions versus the same month last year.

During the first eleven months of fiscal year 2026 (July 2025–May 2026), the central bank purchased a cumulative net $7.263 billion from the market, compared with $7.182 billion during the same period of fiscal year 2025 (July 2024–May 2025), an improvement of approximately $81m on a year-on-year basis.

Purchases during FY26 so far have been heavily concentrated in September, October and December, each exceeding $1 billion, while July, August, November, January, February, March, April and May remained relatively subdued by comparison.

The SBP defines Net FX Intervention as outright and swap purchases of foreign exchange minus outright and swap sales conducted with banks in the interbank market

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