{"id":35196,"date":"2026-01-09T00:04:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T00:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=35196"},"modified":"2026-01-09T00:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T00:04:20","slug":"foreign-reserves-rise-141m-to-21-19b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=35196","title":{"rendered":"Foreign reserves rise $141m to $21.19b"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Pakistan&#8217;s total liquid foreign currency reserves stood at $21.19 billion as of January 2, 2026, reflecting a modest improvement in the country&#8217;s external liquidity position, according to official data.<\/p>\n<p>The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) held $16.06 billion in foreign reserves, while commercial banks collectively maintained net foreign reserves of $5.14 billion, bringing the total liquid reserves to $21.19 billion.<\/p>\n<p>During the week ended January 2, the SBP&#8217;s foreign exchange reserves increased by $141 million, signalling a slight strengthening of the central bank&#8217;s buffer amid ongoing external pressures.<\/p>\n<p>Analysts at Arif Habib Limited (AHL) noted that Pakistan&#8217;s reserves currently provide an import cover of 2.65 months, which indicates the number of months the country can sustain imports using its available liquid reserves.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the Pakistani rupee edged slightly higher against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday. It closed at Rs280.05, marking a Rs0.01 gain versus the greenback. On Wednesday, the rupee had finished the session at Rs280.06.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, gold prices in Pakistan declined, reflecting cautious sentiment in global markets ahead of key US non-farm payroll data, which investors are closely watching for signals on the Federal Reserve&#8217;s rate policy.<\/p>\n<p>In the local market, gold per tola fell by Rs600 to Rs466,162, while 10-gram gold was sold at Rs399,658, down Rs515, according to the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association. On Wednesday, gold per tola had already dropped by Rs1,200 to Rs466,762.<\/p>\n<p>Internationally, gold eased by $6 to $4,438 per ounce (with a $20 premium). Spot gold in global markets showed a mild recovery later, trading up 0.2% at $4,460.36 per ounce as of 11:55 am ET, after touching the session low of $4,406.89. US gold futures for February delivery rose 0.2% to $4,470. Analysts noted that near-term pressure from commodity index adjustments continues to cap gains. Meanwhile, silver prices also fell, dropping Rs236 to Rs8,125 per tola.<\/p>\n<p>The annual Bloomberg Commodity Index rebalancing, which is a periodic adjustment of commodity weightings to keep the index aligned with market conditions, begins this week.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s just going to be pressure for the next few sessions on gold and silver while that commodity index readjusts,&#8221; said RJO Futures Senior Market Strategist Bob Haberkorn.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the short-term dip, HSBC analysts remain optimistic on the precious metal, projecting gold could reach $5,000 per ounce in the first half of 2026, driven by safe-haven demand and ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pakistan&#8217;s total liquid foreign currency reserves stood at $21.19 billion as of January 2, 2026, reflecting a modest improvement in the country&#8217;s external liquidity position, according to official data. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) held $16.06 billion in foreign reserves, while commercial banks collectively maintained net foreign reserves of $5.14 billion, bringing the total [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35196\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}