The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank registered their second consecutive weekly increase, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
On February 17, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $3.259 billion, up $66 million (or 2.1 percent) compared to 3.193 billion on February 10.
Last week, the central bank reserves went up by $276 million or almost 10 percent after falling to a precariously low level of below $3 billion in the preceding week.
Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $8.727 billion, up $24 million over the previous week. The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.468 billion, registering a drop of $41 million during the week.
According to Arif Habib Limited, the current reserves are enough for import cover of fewer than 0.68 months (approximately 20 days).
Reserves set to strengthen
The reserves are likely to strengthen in the coming weeks as Pakistan is inching closer to the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will not only unlock a loan tranche of $1.1 billion but will also result in financial assistance from friendly countries.
The reserves are also set to get a major cash injection during the current week as the Board of China Development Bank has approved the facility of $700 million for Pakistan.
