KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell to $4.09 billion after external debt repayment of $102 million, data released on Thursday showed.
The overall number still stands at a critical level at around a month of import cover.
Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $9.51 million. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks clocked in at $5.42 million.
“During the week ended on May 26, 2023, SBP reserves decreased by $102 million to $4,090.7 million due to external debt payments,” said the SBP in a statement.
Last week, SBP’s foreign exchange reserves decreased $110 million to $4.2 billion.
This is the fifth weekly drop in the foreign exchange reserves, with Pakistan seeing no signs of securing external financing any time soon amid political instability — which has had a huge impact on the deteriorating economy.
Pakistan’s reserves got a boost after the country received $300 million from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), the last of three disbursements.
Cumulatively, Pakistan received $2 billion from Chinese institutions. This includes $700 million from the China Development Bank and $1.3 billion from ICBC.
