KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves dropped to $11.690 billion in the week ending April 12 from $12.370 billion in the previous week, the central bank said on Thursday.
Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell to $6.640 billion from $7.277 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks increased to $ 5.049 billion from $5.092billion. Pakistan, on March 28, successfully paid its 11th installment worth $143.75million of Stand-By-Arrangement (SBA) to the IMF.
The next IMF repayment of $391 million is due at the end of May. 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. Remittances from Pakistanis abroad rose 7.47% to $9.23 billion in the first eight months, July to February, of the 2012-13 fiscal year, from $8.59 billion in the same period last year.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, 2013.
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