SBP’s Dollar Purchases from Interbank Market Cross $8 Billion in 12 Months

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) purchased $933 million from the interbank foreign exchange market in February 2026, extending a sustained buying trend aimed at strengthening the country’s external buffers and foreign exchange reserves.

According to the State Bank data compiled by Topline Securities, the latest intervention took the SBP’s cumulative net purchases to $8.16 billion during the 12 months from March 2025 to February 2026.

The February purchase was among the largest monthly interventions recorded over the past year and followed net purchases of $728 million in January 2026. Data released by the central bank shows that SBP remained a consistent buyer throughout the period, with monthly interventions exceeding $1 billion in September 2025, October 2025 and December 2025.

Net foreign exchange intervention refers to outright and swap purchases of foreign currency by the central bank minus any sales conducted through the interbank market. The strategy allows the SBP to absorb surplus dollar liquidity from the market while rebuilding foreign exchange reserves.

The central bank’s buying activity has been supported by improved remittance inflows, a relatively stable exchange rate, stronger export receipts and tighter oversight of the foreign exchange market.

Pakistan’s central bank has increasingly shifted from being a net seller of dollars during previous balance of payments crises to becoming a major net buyer as external account pressures eased. By November 2025, the SBP had already purchased more than $11 billion from the domestic foreign exchange market since June 2024, helping rebuild reserves despite sizable external debt repayments.