The foreign exchange reserves continued to deplete with a staggering outflow of 0.56 billion during the week closing on 14 January 2022.
According to official data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the decrease in the reserve position is due to external debt and various payments.
Total liquid foreign #reserves held by the country stood at US$ 23.35 billion as of January 14, 2022. For details: https://t.co/WpSgomENV3 pic.twitter.com/M2NkAY8VhR
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) January 20, 2022
According to the data of the central bank, the foreign exchange reserves of the country declined to $23 billion. Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan stood at $17.03 billion.
The reserves held by the commercial banks stood at $6.31 billion by the end of January 14.
Pakistan's Liquid Foreign Exchange Reserves down by US$ 551mn WoW
Net reserves with @StateBank_Pak fell by US$562 mn on weekly basis, while net reserves with Banks increased by US$ 11 mn.#Pakistan #economy #SBP #Dollar pic.twitter.com/a0eFfaca1H— Capital Stake (@CapitalStake) January 20, 2022
The consistent outflow of reserves has been a worrisome macroeconomic situation that needs to be addressed by attracting inflows with the available options.
Foreign exchange reserves continue to take big hits over rising inflationary concerns observed at domestic and global levels.
Globally and in advanced economies, inflation has been rising at its highest ever rate since 2008. Given the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to disrupt global economic activity in the near term. The slowdown is expected to coincide with a widening divergence in growth rates between advanced and emerging or developing economies.
