Islamabad: Another sigh of relief for the people, as the forex reserves of Pakistan, witnessed an increase of $18 million, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported.
According to data shared by the central bank, during the week that ended on March 10, 2023, the SBP-held forex reserves shot up by $18 million to reach $4.319 billion.
A similar trend was observed in forex reserves held by commercial banks as they also increased by $75 to clock in at $5.527 billion.
Cumulatively, the net reserves held by both the central bank and commercial banks shored up by $93 million to settle at $9.846 billion during the period under review.
Total liquid foreign #reserves held by the country stood at US$ 9.85 billion as of March 10, 2023.
For details https://t.co/WpSgomnKT3 pic.twitter.com/oHyP6aBnM0— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) March 16, 2023
The central bank did not mention any specific reason behind an increase in SBP-held reserves.
Pakistan faces the renewed risk of recession amid a deepening political and economic crisis and a delay in the revival of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) bailout programme.
Bloomberg survey showed that the probability of the economy slipping into recession stands at 70%, according to the median forecast of 27 economists.
In the last few months, the cash-strapped nation has failed to meet several deadlines to secure funds to stave off a default, which has raised concerns that Pakistan might have to pause debt repayments.
In order to woo the IMF, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government have raised taxes, cut energy subsidies, and hiked interest rates to a 25-year high to tamp down prices, but some issues are yet to be resolved.
