The foreign exchange reserves of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have crossed the $10 billion mark by March-end.
During the week that ended on 29 March 2019, SBP received inflows of RMB 15 billion (equivalent to US$2.2 billion) as proceeds of the loan obtained by the government of Pakistan from China. After taking into account outflows relating to external debt and other official payments, SBP reserves increased by $1.931 billion during the week.
It is pertinent to mention here that the foreign exchange reserves of the central bank previously stood at $10.2 billion in July 2018, which started depleting in later months to $8 billion. However, the reserves’ position gradually improved with the inflows from China and UAE.
In addition to SBP’s reserves, the foreign exchange reserves held by private banks stand at $6.9 billion.
Overall, the foreign exchange reserves of the country held by the central bank and private banks have surged to $17.3 billion.
