The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank fell by 0.12% on a week-on-week basis to $4.46 billion, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
On April 28, 2023, the SBP’s foreign currency reserves stood at $4,457.2 million, down by $6 million as compared to $4,462.8 million on April 20. The central bank gave no reason for the decrease in reserves.
Overall, the liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including the net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $10,043.2 million. The net reserves held by banks amounted to $5,586 million.
Ismail Iqbal Securities Head of Research Fahad Rauf has said that any significant improvement in Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves depends on the revival of IMF loan programme and inflow of fresh financing from other multilateral and bilateral creditors.
“They (FX reserves) are projected to rise to around $7-8 billion by the end of current fiscal year on June 30, 2023,” he said.
The reserves improved in the recent past after the central bank opted to buy US dollars in the inter-bank market in the wake of increased supply of the greenback compared to its demand.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 5th, 2023.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
1719053250-0/BeFunky-collage-(5)1719053250-0-270x192.webp "electric shock for millions as tariffs soar")
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ