Pakistan Foreign Exchange Reserves Decline by $560 Million

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves declined further by $560 million during the previous week.

An announcement of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that due to debt and other repayments the country’s foreign exchange reserves declined to $13.99 billion.

It said that with the fresh decline the net foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank have fallen to $7.50 billion.

The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks stood at $6.49 billion.

The country foreign exchange reserves are on the decline, triggering concerns of a possible balance of payment crisis.  Though the government secured a bail-out package from Saudi Arabia, the committed amount has not yet been transferred to the SBP’s account.

ALSO READ

Rupee Continues to Decline Against US Dollar

The unease of the wary investors is reflective of the continuous decline of the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The rupee is also on a steep decline due to the pressure of declining foreign exchange reserves.

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Asad Umar tried to sooth the unease prevailing in the financial markets, saying that the balance of payment issue for the ongoing fiscal year has been solved.

He had said that the fundamental economic indicators started showing improvement and there is no crisis like situation. He condemned those spreading rumours, saying that they are doing no good to the country.