Staff Reporter
Karachi
The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased 2.04% on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday.
Earlier, the reserves had spiralled downwards, falling below the $7-billion mark, which raised concern over Pakistan’s ability to meet its financing requirements. However, financial assistance from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and other friendly nations helped shore up the foreign exchange reserves.
On July 26, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7,767 million, up $155.1 million compared with $7,611.9 million in the previous week. The increase in reserves was due to official government of Pakistan inflows, the statement added.
Overall, liquid foreign currency reserves, held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $15,061.8 million. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $7,294.8 million.
Pakistan received the first loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of $991.4 million on July 9, which helped bolster the reserves. Previously, the reserves had jumped on account of $2.5 billion in inflows from China. Over time, the declining reserves have forced the central bank to let the rupee depreciate massively, sparking concern about the country’s ability to finance a hefty import bill as well as meet debt obligations in coming months.
