Forex reserves rise to $16.12b

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan rose to $12.37 billion from $12.35 billion.

KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves rose to $16.12 billion in the week ending August 27 from $16.11 billion a week earlier, the central bank said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose to $12.37 billion from $12.35 billion, while those held by commercial banks fell to $3.75 billion from $3.76 billion, said SBP’s chief spokesman Syed Wasimuddin.

Forex reserves rose to a record high of $16.77 billion in the week ending on July 2 on the back of foreign inflows worth $750 million received. In May, Pakistan received $1.13 billion, the fifth tranche of an $11 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan. The previous record high was $16.45 billion in October 2007.

Pakistani officials are holding crisis talks in Washington with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) focusing on the floods which started in July and the IMF predicted the catastrophe would have a major and lasting economic impact.

Pakistan agreed to an $11.2 billion IMF loan programme in 2008. If the IMF agrees to ease the loan’s targets or extend the repayment period it would alleviate the government’s financial burden.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2010.