SBP Reserves Fall by $303 Million to 3-Year Low of $7.6 Billion

The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased by 3. percent on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.

On October 7, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7.597 billion, down $303 million compared to $7.899 billion on September 30. Currently, the reserves are at their lowest level since July 2019.

According to the central bank, the decrease in reserves was “entirely” due to external debt repayments, which included repayment of a commercial loan and interest payment on Eurobonds.

Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $13.24 billion. Net reserves held by banks stood at $5.649 billion, registering a decrease of $39 million.

It is pertinent to mention here that the government also needs to pay $1 billion on bonds maturing in December.

On Monday, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) denied any role in the strengthening of the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) against the US Dollar (USD) and refuted claims that it had sold any dollars in the market.

The central bank said that with secured external financing and additional commitments, it anticipates that the foreign exchange reserves will improve. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have pledged to provide assistance/financing of $1.5 billion, $1-2 billion, and $0.5 billion respectively in the aftermath of floods.

Reserves held by the central bank had touched $8.8 billion on September 2, following the receipt of a $1.16 billion loan tranche from the IMF. However, since September 2 the central bank’s reserves have gone down by $1.18 billion as the country has failed to secure any sizeable investment from friendly countries.



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