Foreign exchange: SBP’s reserves down 1.4%
PHOTO: AFP
Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased 1.4% on a weekly basis on March 18, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday.
SBP’s liquid foreign exchange reserves decreased by $229 million to $15,630 million compared to $15,859 million in the previous week.
The decrease in reserves is mainly attributed to payments of $223 million on account of external debt servicing. Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $20,521.5 million while net reserves held by banks amounted to $4,891.1 million.
Last month, foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP increased 3.5% on a weekly basis after it received $500 million from the IMF.
The SBP received $918 million, which include $500 million from the World Bank and $400 million from the ADB.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 25th, 2016.