SBP Reserves Down $157 Million to $7.4 Billion

The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased by 2.1 percent on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday. On October 21, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7.440 billion, down $157 million compared to $7.597 billion on October 14 due to external debt repayments. Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $13.16 billion. Net reserves held by banks stood at $5.722 billion, registering an increase of $67 million. The statement issued by the central bank further mentioned that it received $1.5 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Oct 26 as disbursement of loan for the Government of Pakistan. The central bank said that these proceeds will be reflected in SBP reserves for the week ending Oct 28.