The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased by almost 8 percent on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
On March 24, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $4.244 billion, down $354 million compared to 4.599 billion on March 17. In a statement, the central bank said that the decline was due to external debt repayment.
Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $9.816 billion, up $323 million over the previous week.
The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.572 billion, registering an increase of $31 million during the week. According to Arif Habib Limited, the current reserves are enough for an import cover of less than a month.