SBP’s foreign exchange reserves dropped to $7.83 billion

Owing to debt payments, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves fell to $7.83 billion as of August 5 from $8.385 billion in the last week.

It is worth noting that this is the lowest level in over three years, according to figures released by the SBP.

Pakistan’s overall foreign exchange reserves were $27.067 billion as of August 2021 but fell to $13.561 billion as of August 5, 2022.

The most recent figures on the country’s foreign exchange holdings came when the reserves were quickly running out due to a $6 billion IMF programme that was stalled and the country was experiencing a lack of external funding.

Due to debt payments and a lack of external finance, the central bank’s foreign reserves decreased by $555 million or 6.6 per cent every week.

To reach $13.561 billion, Pakistan’s total liquid foreign reserves decreased by $648 million, or 4.6 per cent, and its commercial banks’ holdings fell by $5.730 billion, or 1.6 per cent.

The SBP’s reserves are sufficient to cover imports for just over a month, according to The News. The reverse decline was brought on by paying off foreign debt.

According to the central bank, debt repayments may slow down over the following three weeks of this month.

On the other hand, the Pakistani rupee continued its upward trend against the US dollar for the ninth day, adding Rs3.38 to trade at Rs215.50 in intraday trade on Friday. The KSE-100 index likewise witnessed an increase of 386 points.