SBP reserves fall by $140m to $7.6b

KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by $140 million to $7.638 billion in the week ending September 8, the central bank said on Thursday.

According to the SBP data, the total reserves of the country dropped by $48 million to $13.079 billion. However, the reserves of commercial banks increased by $93 million to $5.440 billion.

The SBP attributed the decline in the forex reserves to the external debt repayment.

It is pertinent to note that, since the Staff Level Agreement (SLA) was signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country got a substantial boost, with a $1.2bn immediate disbursement received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a $2bn deposit from Saudi Arabia and an additional $1bn deposit from United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Consequently, in the current fiscal year, total liquid foreign reserves have increased by $3.9bn or 42.45%.