Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. PHOTO: AFP/ FILE
Data released by the SBP a day earlier had stated that the foreign exchange reserves declined to a 12-year low of $2.9 billion. However, Dar clarified that the data was from last Friday and the current figures show that the reserves have increased.
According to the SBP data, foreign exchange reserves reduced $83.5 million, or 2.7%, between November 29 and December 6. Total liquid foreign reserves held by Pakistan on December 6 amounted a little over $8 billion.
By the end of November, the country’s official reserves had plunged to $3.05 billion, sufficient for only three weeks of imports. Owing to the shortage of dollars and administrative weakness of the State Bank of Pakistan, commercial banks had also refused to provide dollars to the exchange companies, forcing the Ministry of Finance to remind the SBP to do its job.
The finance minister also announced that there would be no gas price hike for private and domestic consumers. “The price hike is not under consideration. The news was based on miscommunication,” he said.
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I agree with comments above. Is this going to be a weekly "tamasha"?
Get on with the job, guys, and for once implement some meaningful structural reforms that are growth-enhancing, will boost confidence and reverse capital flight.
This is what happens when an accountant runs an economy.
mr. minister if you will read ex. tribune you will find that loan is over 1tr.
Just goes to show how low the economy has sunk if the Finance Minister has to make proclamations about a $500 million weekly rise in foreign exchange reserves! God help us!
One thing is proven. This dude might be an expert in money laundering, but knows nothing about economy.
beggars will run around this week to reach masters in US and Beijing and start begging on our knees for more dollars.. what a shame
The Govt. borrowed it, which means taxpayers need to return it with interest.
It will be better if ET can report where the Govt. got its 500 million USD and how much was the interest. We taxpayers need to keep track of these monthly financial escapades.
Very likely the lion of Punjab, his family, his inner circle, his cronies, his proxies somehow missed this week's bhatta. It ended up in the exchequer.