Forex: Currency reserves fall to $11.433 billion

KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves fell to $11.433 billion in the week ending May 17 from $11.601 billion in the previous week, the central bank said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell to $6.382 billion from $6.524 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks fell to $5.050 billion from $5.076 billion. 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. Meanwhile, exports and record remittances have supported Pakistan’s reserves. Remittances from Pakistanis abroad rose 6.37% to $11.57 billion in the first ten months, July to April, of the 2012-13 fiscal year, from $10.876 billion in the same period last year. Average monthly remittances from July-April 2012-13 come to $1.156 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2013.

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