Pakistan's foreign reserves drop to $13.46 billion

KARACHI: The total liquid foreign reserves of Pakistan dropped by $74 million to $13.46 billion on June 27, 2023, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.

According to the stats issued by the SBP, the country’s foreign reserves dropped by $74 million to $13.46 billion. The reserves in the SBP dropped by $ 32 million to $8.15 billion.

Meanwhile, net foreign reserves held by commercial banks declined by $38 million to US$ 5.3 billion, it added.

Earlier, the total liquid foreign reserves of Pakistan stood at US$13,534.1 million while reserves held by the central bank reached $8,186.1 million, ARY News reported.

The State Bank of Pakistan, in a statement issued here on Thursday, informed that SBP’s reserves decreased by US$ 541 million to US$ 8,186.1 million mainly due to external debt repayments during the week ending on July 21, 2023.

Meanwhile, net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at US$ 5,348 million, it added.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Senate was told today that the foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have swollen from eight billion dollars to around 14 billion dollars due to prudent economic policies of the government.

As per details, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar responded to various points of order raised by the lawmakers in the Upper House.

The Finance Minister recalled that he had consistently been saying that Pakistan would not default and fulfilled all its sovereign commitments. He said the government managed to achieve this objective with generous support from friendly countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and China.