Islamabad 25 July: Forex reserves drop $69M as rupee faces pressure. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported a $69 million decrease in its foreign exchange reserves for the week ending July 18, 2025, bringing the total to $14.46 billion, driven by external debt repayments.
Combined with commercial banks’ holdings of $5.46 billion, Pakistan’s total liquid reserves stand at $19.9 billion, down $40 million from the prior week.
The Pakistani rupee weakened by 0.03% in the interbank market, closing at 284.56 against the US dollar on July 24, 2025, down from 284.47 the previous day. Over the past year, the rupee has depreciated by 1.89%, with the USD/PKR rate at 283.7040, a 0.52% decline from the prior session.
To counter the rupee’s slide, Pakistan’s intelligence agency, backed by the military, has launched a crackdown on illegal dollar trading in the black market, as confirmed by the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan. This follows a similar 2023 operation that stabilized the rupee temporarily. The open market dollar rate fell by Rs. 1 to 277 shortly after the crackdown began, signaling reduced black market activity.
READ MORE:Crack Down on Illegal Dollar Trading Amid Rupee Decline
With reserves covering 2.3 months of imports, the SBP has purchased $5.3 billion in dollars from July 2024 to February 2025 to bolster reserves. Authorities are encouraging legal currency transactions to stabilize the rupee and curb illicit trading, aiming to ease economic pressures and restore confidence in regulated financial channels.
