Forex: Currency reserves rise to $13.19 billion

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan rose to $8.227 billion from $8.141 billion a week earlier.

KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves improved to $13.185 billion in the week ending February 22 from $13.058 billion in the previous week, the central bank said on Thursday. Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose to $8.227 billion from $8.141 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks increased to $4.958 billion from $4.917 billion. Pakistan has repaid $145 million to the International Monetary Fund in February, with another payment worth $392 million made on February 26. Heavy debt repayments to the IMF have been putting a dent in the central bank’s reserves, which have declined by nearly 20% in the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, exports and record remittances have supported Pakistan’s reserves. Overseas Pakistani workers have so far remitted $8.21 billion in the ongoing fiscal year according to official statistics.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2013.

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