Forex reserves hit all-time high of $18.25b

Loans from World Bank, ADB push reserves to new high.

KARACHI:

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves reached an all-time high of $18.25 billion in the week ended July 2, following inflows of more than $400 million that included loans from multilateral donors, a central bank official said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose to $14.79 billion from $14.02 billion a week ago and those held by commercial banks edged up to $3.46 billion from $3.45 billion, said SBP chief spokesman Syed Wasimuddin.

“During the week we received inflows of $411 million, which pushed the reserves to an all-time high level,” he said. “These inflows included a loan of $191.9 million from the World Bank and another loan of $196.8 million from the Asian Development Bank.”

Foreign exchange reserves totalled $17.47 billion in the previous week. They had reached a previous high of $17.95 billion during the week ended March 26.

Higher export proceeds and a record inflow of remittances have helped forex reserves grow steadily. Remittances from overseas Pakistanis topped $10 billion for the first time in fiscal year 2010-11, hitting $10.1 billion in the first 11 months, an increase of 25 percent compared with the same period last year, according to data from the SBP.

Foreign exchange reserves were boosted in January by more than $633 million, released by the United States for military and logistical support in the campaign against extremism. In May 2010, the country received $1.13 billion in the fifth tranche of an $11.3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme. The two sides are due to meet this month to discuss the possible release of the sixth tranche.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2011.