SBP's February FX buying surges to $933m

May 29, 2026 (MLN): The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) purchased $933m from the interbank foreign exchange market in February 2026, according to official data released by its Domestic Markets & Monetary Management Department.

The latest intervention marked a notable rebound from the previous month, when SBP bought $728m in January 2026, suggesting a pickup in foreign exchange inflows after a mid-range start to the calendar year.

On a year-on-year basis, February's purchases were more than four times the $223m recorded in February 2025, reflecting dramatically stronger inflow conditions compared to the same month last year.

During the first eight months of fiscal year 2026 (July 2025–February 2026), the central bank purchased a cumulative net $5.807 billion from the market.

Purchases were heavily concentrated in September, October, December, and February, with September, October, and December each exceeding $1 billion, while July and August remained relatively subdued and February registered a strong recovery figure.

In comparison, SBP had purchased $5.881 billion during the same period of fiscal year 2025 (July 2024–February 2025), suggesting that cumulative inflows over the eight-month period remain marginally softer than last year's levels.

The latest cumulative figure represents a year-on-year decline of approximately $74m.

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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