Foreign exchange: SBP's reserves rise 5.4%, cross $11.5b

Increase comes on account of official inflows

KARACHI: After a continuous decline for 19 consecutive weeks, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose 5.4% on a weekly basis, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday.

On April 27, foreign currency reserves held by the central bank were recorded at $11,510 million, up $593 million or 5.4% compared to $10,917 million in the previous week.

The increase in reserves was attributed to official inflows.

Overall, liquid foreign reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $17,712.9 million. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $6,202.6 million.

Pakistan raised $2.5 billion in November 2017 by floating dollar-denominated sovereign bonds in the international market in a bid to shore up official reserves.



A few months ago, foreign currency reserves surged 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). In January, the SBP made a $500-million loan repayment to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), China.