Pakistan’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Fall by $252 Million

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves declined by $252 million in the week that ended on 24 September, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Thursday. The country’s total liquid foreign reserves stood at $26,150.8 million on 24 September, down from the reserves recorded at $26,402.6 million on 17 September. Within this, the foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell week-over-week to $19,294.5 million on 24 September, down from $19,543.4. Meanwhile, the net foreign reserves held by the commercial banks fell to $6,856.3 million, as compared to $6,859.2 million in the prior week. The central bank’s reserves soared to a record high of $20.15 billion in August after the International Monetary Fund directed Special Drawing Rights worth $2,751.8 million to the SBP. However, the SBP’s reserves began to decline steadily since August, which it attributed to the fulfillment of debt repayments. Meanwhile, the local currency is depreciating sharply and crashed to a record low against the US Dollar at 170.66 on Thursday. Pakistan’s current account deficit widened to $1.50 billion year-over-year in August as imports surged by 86 percent. Additionally, the SBP raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 7.25 percent earlier in September.