Foreign exchange: SBP's reserves continue to decline, stand at $14.31b

External debt servicing, other official payments cited as reason for the fall

KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) continued their downward spiral for the fifth consecutive week, falling 0.61% on a weekly basis, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday.

On August 11, the foreign currency reserves held by the central bank were recorded at $14,310.5 million, down $88.3 million or 0.61%, compared to $14,398.8 million in the previous week, according to the central bank.

The decrease was attributed to payments on account of external debt servicing and other official payments.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $19,941.8 million. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $5,631.3 million.



More than a month ago, foreign currency reserves increased due to official inflows including $622 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and $106 million from the World Bank.

Earlier, the SBP received $350 million under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) and made payments of $62 million for external debt servicing.

In January, the SBP made a $500-million loan repayment to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), China.