Monthly remittances cross US$3bn for first time: SBP

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday announced that remittances crossed the monthly mark of US$3 billion for the first time, ARY NEWS reported.

The central bank while sharing details of all-time high remittances during a month from its Twitter handle further shared that cumulatively, at $26.1 billion, remittances grew by 7.6 % in the ten months of FY22 compared to last year.

The SBP further shared that most remittances came from Saudi Arabia, US$707 million, US$614 million from United Arab Emirates, US$484 million from United Kingdom and US$346 million from United States.

Remittances crossed the monthly mark of US $3 billion for the first time. Cumulatively, at $26.1 billion, remittances grew by 7.6 % in the ten months of FY22 compared to last year.https://t.co/7XBd4uNES4 pic.twitter.com/8fDthGpYBi

— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) May 13, 2022

It is pertinent to mention here that foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declined by $190 million to $10.308 billion during the week ended on May 6, data released by the central bank showed on Friday.

The country’s total foreign reserves, including net reserves of commercial banks, dipped to $16.375 billion, the central bank said. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks were US$ 6.067 billion.

The foreign exchange reserves of the country were $16.553 billion by week ended April 30, 2022.

Total liquid foreign #reserves held by the country stood at US$ 16.38 billion as of May 06, 2022. For details: https://t.co/WpSgomnd3v pic.twitter.com/EXe6IvGeoB

— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) May 13, 2022

After attaining a peak of $20bn in August 2021, the SBP reserves hit a 23-month low while the country’s total forex stocks also slumped to a 28-month low during the week ending on May 6.

The falling reserves put pressure on the domestic currency as it plunged to an all-time low of Rs191.77 in the interbank market.