Decrease comes on account of external debt servicing, other official payments. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) again came under pressure, shrinking 3% on a weekly basis, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday.
The fall sparks concern over Pakistan’s ability to meet future payment obligations and manage a bulging current account deficit.
On May 4, foreign currency reserves held by the central bank were recorded at $11,163 million, down $347 million or 3% compared with $11,510 million in the previous week.
The decrease in reserves was attributed to external debt servicing and other official payments.
Foreign exchange: SBP's reserves rise 5.4%, cross $11.5b
Overall, liquid foreign reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $17,286.4 million. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $6,124 million.
Pakistan raised $2.5 billion in November 2017 by floating dollar-denominated 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.
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