KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan declined by $366 million to $9.723 billion during the week ended on May 27.
The reserves by the central bank fell to single-digit for the first time in the current fiscal year as it noted an outflow of $366 million during the week ended on May 27. The central bank reported that its reserves fell to $9.723 billion at the end of the week.
The country’s total reserves declined to $15.771bn while the holdings of commercial banks were $6.048bn. The central bank added that the decrease occurred due to “external debt repayment”.
Meanwhile, the local currency further gained 28 paisa against the US dollar in the interbank market on Thursday. The dollar closed at the price of Rs197.59. The dollar in the open market traded at Rs198.
On the other hand, the federal government on Thursday increased the prices of petroleum products by Rs30 per litre. After the hike, the price of petrol is set at Rs209.86, diesel at Rs204.15, and kerosene oil at Rs181.56.
This is the second such increase within a span of two weeks as the coalition government raised the price of petrol by Rs30 per litre on May 26, the biggest increase in fuel price in the country’s history.
