The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased for the second consecutive week, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
On October 13, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7.714 billion, up $67 million compared to $7.647 billion on October 6.
Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $12.913 billion, down $117 million over the previous week. The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.199 billion, registering a decline of $184.5 million during the week.
Last week, the SBP governor said that the foreign exchange buffers are improving with both build-up in reserves and a reduction in forward foreign exchange liabilities. He explained that since January 2023, SBP’s foreign exchange reserves improved from a low of $3.1 billion to $7.6 billion as of end-September 2023.
He said the reserves build-up was largely supported by non-debt-creating inflows amid favorable market conditions. At the same time, SBP’s forward foreign exchange liabilities have declined and the forward book target of $4.2 billion for end-September 2023 agreed with the IMF has already been met by a wide margin.
