SBP reserves rise by $66m to $3.258b

The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank rose by $66 million to $3.258 billion in the week ending Feb 17, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday, while its total liquid foreign reserves stood at $8.726 billion.

Pakistan, which is a $350 billion economy, is facing economic turmoil, with a balance of payment crisis and only enough foreign exchange reserves to cover three weeks of imports.

Islamabad is expecting external financing inflows after a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is finalised, something that is likely this month.

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If the IMF deal is done and approved by its board that will issue a $1.2 billion funding, that will also unlock other bilateral and multilateral inflows.

China approved the refinancing of $700 million on Wednesday, the finance ministry said. The money had been expected to be credited to the central bank's reserves this week.