The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased by 9.5 percent on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
On February 10, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $3.192 billion, up $276 million compared to $2.916 billion on February 3. However, despite the increase, the central bank reserves remain at their lowest since February 2014.
Liquid Foreign Exchange Reserves: 10-Feb-2023
Total: $ 8.7bn, up by $ 163mn
SBP: $ 3.2bn, up by $ 276mn
Banks: $ 5.5bn, down by $ 114mn
Import cover: 0.64 months
@StateBank_Pak #SBP #FXReserves #Pakistan #Economy #AHL pic.twitter.com/iJPtQo3Uvi— Arif Habib Limited (@ArifHabibLtd) February 16, 2023
Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $8.702 billion, up $163 million over the previous week. The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.509 billion, registering a decrease of $114 million during the week.
According to Arif Habib Limited, the current reserves are enough for import cover of fewer than 0.64 months (approximately 19 days), a slight improvement from last week’s import cover. The reserves held by the central bank have declined by $2.3 billion since the start of the current calendar year.
