As expected, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) surged $4.2 billion, clocking in at nearly $8.73 billion as of July 14, data released on Thursday showed.

This is the highest level of SBP-held reserves since October 2022, making this a nine-month high.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $14.07 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks clocked in at $5.34 billion.

“During the week ended July 14, 2023, SBP received $2.0 billion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, $1.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and $1.0 billion from the United Arab Emirates (UAE),” the SBP said in a statement.

“Consequently, SBP reserves increased by $4.203 billion to $8.727 billion.”

SBP-held foreign exchange reserves rise $61mn, stand at $4.52bn

Last week, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had announced that Pakistan has received the first tranche from the IMF after its lender approved a new $3-billion Stand-By Arrangement. There are two more quarterly reviews, one in November and the last in February, Dar had said separately.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which committed the amounts earlier, also deposited their financing with Pakistan’s central bank.