The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan dropped for the ninth straight week by $0.45 billion (2.57 percent) on a week-on-week basis to reach $17.03 billion.
According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the foreign exchange reserves held by the country decreased on a weekly basis during the week ended on April 08 to $17.03 billion from $17.48 billion recorded on April 01, 2022.
The central bank said that the foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased by 4.15 percent on a weekly basis.
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On April 8, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $10,849.6 million, down $470 million compared to $11,319.2 million on April 1.
According to the central bank, the decrease came mainly due to external debt repayments.
Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $17,028.1 million.
Net reserves held by commercial banks increased to $6,178.5 million from $6,157.7 million during the aforementioned period, showing an increase of $20.8 million (+0.34 percent)
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Executive Board on February 2 approved Pakistan’s request for a $1 billion loan tranche.
A meeting of the IMF’s Executive Board took place to discuss and finalise Pakistan’s request for the completion of the sixth Review and release of a $1 billion tranche under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank soared to an all-time high of $20.15 billion after Pakistan received a general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) worth $2,751.8 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on August 24.