SBP says foreign reserves are 'fully usable', rejects rumours

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has rejected rumours claiming that its foreign exchange reserves had “dried up”, clarifying that the country’s banks had run out of US dollars, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Taking to Twitter, the central bank noted that rumours were circulating that its reserves have fallen to an alarmingly low level along with the suspension of import payments.

However, the SBP clarified that its foreign reserves stood at $8.99 billion. “These do not include gold reserves, and are fully usable for all purposes,” it added.

2/3 It is clarified that as of 10th June 2022, #SBP liquid foreign reserves stood at $8.99 billion. These do not include gold reserves, and are fully usable for all purposes.

— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) June 21, 2022

The central bank further said that it had not stopped import payments and that commercial banks had sufficient dollar liquidity to execute those payments.

“Import payments of around $4.7 billion have been executed through the interbank market during the month so far,” the SBP added.

Earlier on June 16, it was reported that the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves declined by $240 million during the week ended on June 10.

According to details shared by the central bank, the overall foreign reserves held by the country stood at $14.94 billion on June 10.

Sharing a break-up of the foreign reserves position, the central bank said that the reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan stand at $8.98 billion while commercial banks also have reserves of $5.96 billion.