Pakistan’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves stood at US$26,863.3 million as of 9 October 2026, according to the State Bank of Pakistan’s economic indicators. The total comprises US$21,469.5 million held by SBP and US$5,393.8 million held by banks.
The total contains two distinct components
| Holder | US$ million |
|---|---|
| State Bank of Pakistan | 21,469.5 |
| Banks | 5,393.8 |
| Total | 26,863.3 |
Expressed in billions, these amounts are approximately US$21.47 billion at SBP, US$5.39 billion at banks and US$26.86 billion in total. The figures describe a dated stock. They are not a measure of new foreign exchange earned during October.
Why the holder matters
An assessment of the central bank’s external buffer should identify the SBP-held component. Adding bank-held foreign exchange produces a broader system total, with a different ownership boundary. Switching between the two measures can make an apparent improvement or deterioration misleading even when both underlying numbers are correctly quoted.
For public-finance readers, this distinction is particularly useful when discussing foreign-currency debt payments. A reserve balance is a financial asset measure; a budget allocation is an authority to spend. They sit in different accounts and cannot be substituted for one another simply because both are expressed in money.
What this snapshot can and cannot establish
The figures provide a starting point for assessing resilience to external payment pressure. A fuller judgment also needs the timing of obligations, expected inflows and the composition of financing. This stock alone does not establish import cover, net reserves or how much debt is falling due. Each of those calculations requires additional information and a defined methodology.
The next release will permit a like-for-like comparison using the same reserve definition. Until then, the useful discipline is to retain both the observation date and the holder in any headline. Publication on 18 October does not turn a 9 October balance into a real-time reading.
Sources and reporting basis
SBP: Economic indicators, liquid foreign exchange reserves as of 9 October 2026
Official information checked on 18 October 2026. Interpretation is PakFiscal’s; reporting periods and policy targets are identified separately from publication dates.
