State bank: Foreign reserves fall $95m

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $13,464.9 million

KARACHI:

Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) recorded a week-on-week decrease of 1% on October 17, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday.

SBP’s liquid foreign exchange reserves fell $95 million to $8,787 million compared to $8,882 million in the previous week. During the week, the SBP made payments of $118 million on account of external debt servicing. There were no significant inflows.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $13,464.9 million while net foreign reserves held by banks amounted to $4,677.6 million. Though the reserves have come down, they are expected to get some boost early next month from the sale of shares in Oil and Gas Development Company on the London Stock Exchange. The government is likely to receive around $800 million from the share float.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2014.

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