Foreign exchange reserves rise to $4.4b

Record an increase of $393 million upon receipt of official inflows from govt

KARACHI:

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) saw a significant surge of 9.6% on a week-on-week basis, as reported by data released by the SBP on Thursday.

As of June 30, the SBP’s foreign currency reserves reached $4.4 billion, recording an increase of $393 million compared to $4.06 billion on June 23, 2023. This rise is primarily attributed to the receipt of official inflows from the Government of Pakistan (GoP).

Taking into account the total liquid foreign currency reserves, including reserves held by other banks apart from the SBP, the overall reserves amounted to $9.7 billion. The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.2 billion.

The recent intervention by the central bank in the interbank market, involving the purchase of US dollars, has contributed to a slight improvement in forex reserves. However, the critically low level of reserves raises concerns about the possibility of a debt default.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2023.

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