The State Bank of Pakistan purchased $154 million from the interbank foreign exchange market in May 2026, according to data released by the central bank’s Domestic Markets and Monetary Management Department. The latest figure represents a substantial slowdown in the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange purchases compared with the previous month, reflecting a notable change in the pace of market purchases during the final months of fiscal year 2026. May’s figure was also the lowest monthly purchase recorded since January 2025.
The central bank’s foreign exchange purchases declined sharply from April 2026, when the State Bank of Pakistan purchased $635 million from the interbank market. The May figure was therefore $481 million lower than the previous month. The significant month-on-month decline indicates that the pace of foreign exchange purchases moderated considerably during May after a stronger level of activity in April. Despite the monthly slowdown, cumulative purchases during the first eleven months of fiscal year 2026 remained slightly higher than the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
On a year-on-year basis, the decline was also evident. The State Bank of Pakistan had purchased $522 million from the interbank market in May 2025, meaning purchases in May 2026 were approximately $368 million lower than the level recorded during the same month a year earlier. The comparison indicates that foreign exchange purchase activity was considerably weaker in May 2026 than in May 2025, pointing toward comparatively softer inflow conditions during the month.
Despite the weaker May performance, the central bank’s cumulative net foreign exchange purchases during the first eleven months of fiscal year 2026 reached $7.263 billion. This compares with $7.182 billion recorded during the corresponding eleven-month period of fiscal year 2025, covering July 2024 through May 2025. On this basis, cumulative purchases during the first eleven months of fiscal year 2026 were approximately $81 million higher than the same period a year earlier.
The distribution of purchases during fiscal year 2026 has remained uneven across the months. Foreign exchange purchases were heavily concentrated in September, October and December, with each of these months recording purchases above $1 billion. In comparison, July, August, November, January, February, March, April and May recorded relatively subdued purchase levels. The pattern indicates that the overall cumulative figure was supported significantly by stronger purchases during a limited number of months rather than by consistently high monthly purchases throughout the fiscal year.
The May data therefore shows a substantial moderation in foreign exchange market purchases toward the later part of fiscal year 2026. While the cumulative figure remained slightly above the corresponding period of fiscal year 2025, the $154 million recorded in May represents a considerable reduction from the stronger monthly levels seen during some earlier periods of the fiscal year. The monthly movement also highlights the changing conditions affecting foreign exchange inflows and the State Bank of Pakistan’s market activity.
The State Bank of Pakistan defines Net FX Intervention as outright and swap purchases of foreign exchange minus outright and swap sales conducted with banks in the interbank market. This definition captures the central bank’s net foreign exchange activity rather than simply measuring gross purchases. The measure therefore provides an indication of the State Bank of Pakistan’s overall intervention in the interbank foreign exchange market after accounting for both purchases and sales.
With one month remaining in the first eleven-month period covered by the latest data, the cumulative net foreign exchange purchase figure for fiscal year 2026 stood at $7.263 billion through May. Although May recorded the weakest monthly purchase level since January 2025, cumulative activity remained marginally ahead of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. The latest figures underline the uneven pattern of foreign exchange market purchases during fiscal year 2026, with stronger activity concentrated in September, October and December and considerably lower levels recorded across several other months.
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