The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has witnessed a 0.63 per cent decrease on a weekly basis, said a statement issued by the central bank.
After the decrease due to external debt repayments, the reserves held by the SBP stood at $12,949.1 million, down $82 million, during the week ended on February 4. The SBP reserves were recorded at $13,031.2 million in the previous week.
Similarly, the foreign exchange reserves of commercial banks also slightly dropped to $7.124 billion from $7.131 billion.
Earlier this week, Pakistan had approached China to seek relief in debt repayment, a report had claimed. Pakistan had made an informal request to ease terms on the repayment of debt on about a dozen power plants set up under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor over the past eight years, Bloomberg had reported.
“The parties have canvassed Beijing’s willingness to stagger debt payments, as opposed to lowering equity returns,” the report said, adding that Pakistan has yet to make a formal offer. The report had claimed that “Pakistan will formally make the request…after it concludes deals with those local power producers to reduce electricity tariffs”.
