Foreign exchange: SBP's reserves continue to decrease, now stand at $14.13b

Decline in reserves attributed to external debt servicing and other official payments

KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased 1.06% on a weekly basis, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday.

On September 22, the foreign currency reserves held by the central bank were recorded at $14,132.7 million, down $150.9 million or 1.06%, compared to $14,283.6 million in the previous week, according to the central bank.

Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $20,051.6 million. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $5,918.9 million.

The decrease in reserves was attributed to external debt servicing and other official payments.



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.