Foreign exchange: SBP's reserves rise 0.08% to $10.04b

The country's foreign exchange reserves had been on a downward spiral for the past four weeks

KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased 0.08% on a weekly basis, snapping a four-week spell of decline, according to data released by the central bank on Thursday.

The country's foreign exchange reserves had been on a downward spiral for weeks and had depleted significantly, sparking concern over Pakistan's ability to meet future payment obligations and manage a bulging current account deficit.

On June 1, foreign currency reserves held by the central bank were recorded at $10,041.6 million, up $7.8 million or 0.08% compared with $10,033.8 million in the previous week.

Overall, liquid foreign reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $16,419.6 million. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $6,378 million.



In April, SBP's reserves increased $593 million due to official inflows. Pakistan also 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.