Foreign exchange: SBP's reserves drop below $14b, stand at $13.9b

Decrease attributed to external debt servicing, other official payments

KARACHI: The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) continued their downward spiral for the third consecutive week.

The SBP reserves decreased 1.95% on a weekly basis, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday.

On September 29, the foreign currency reserves held by the central bank were recorded at $13,857 million, down $275.7 million or 1.95% compared to $14,132.7 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 $19,763.2 million. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $5,906.2 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.