Pakistan Foreign Exchange Reserves Decline by $219m

The country’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased by $219 million during the week ending on October 12, 2018. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in its weekly report said that during the week SBP’s reserves decreased by $219 million to $8,089 million. The central bank said that the decrease was due to external debt servicing and other official payments. ALSO READ Rupee Continues to Decline Against US Dollar It said that the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $14,613.9 million on October 12, 2018. The reserves held by the SBP stood at $8,088.9 million whereas the net foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks stood at $6,525.0 million. The continued drop in the foreign exchange reserves has raised serious concerns about a potential balance of payment crisis. ALSO READ PSX Crashes Amid IMF Report, Forex Reserves’ Decline The fast depleting forex reserves have compelled the PTI-led government to formally approach the International Monetary Fund for a bail-out package to fix the external account woes. Currently, the government is in talks with the Fund to secure a bail-out package and an IMF delegation is scheduled to visit Pakistan for formal talks soon. On September 28, the foreign currency reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) were recorded at $8,408.5 million, down $627.7 million compared with $9,036.2 million in the previous week.