Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves have risen sharply, mainly because of borrowing. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said its reserves increased by $3.061bn in the week ended September 11th, 2026, to $21.389bn. The central bank attributed the increase to proceeds from the government's Eurobond sale.

This was the second consecutive large weekly increase. In the week ended September 4th, the SBP's reserves rose by $1.21bn to $18.328bn after the government received the proceeds of a commercial loan. Over two weeks, borrowing added about $4.27bn to the central bank's reserves.

The country's total liquid foreign reserves reached $26.791bn on September 11th, up from $23.716bn a week earlier. That was an increase of about $3.08bn in a single week.

Commercial banks contributed little to the increase. Their net foreign reserves rose by $14.6m to $5.402bn, compared with $5.388bn the previous week.

The SBP now holds about four-fifths of Pakistan's liquid foreign reserves, and its share has risen as the borrowed funds have arrived.

The higher reserves give Pakistan a larger buffer against external shocks. However, both recent increases came from borrowing rather than export earnings or investment inflows. The money will eventually have to be repaid, so the improvement depends on future financing as well as current inflows.