SBP Reserves Down $176 Million to $8.6 Billion

The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased 2 percent on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday. On September 9, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $8.624 billion, down $176 million compared to $8.8 billion on September 2. Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $14.317 billion. Net reserves held by banks stood at $5.693 billion, registering an increase of $20 million. The central bank reserves are sufficient to cover an import bill of only 1.23 months, according to Arif Habib Limited. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had received proceeds of $1.16 (the equivalent of SDR 894 million) from the International Monetary Fund on August 31. The central bank said in a statement at the time that the loan tranche will help improve its foreign exchange reserves and will also facilitate the realization of other planned inflows from multilateral and bilateral sources. However, help in the form of safe deposits or investments is yet to arrive from friendly countries. The precarious position of reserves has also put pressure on the local currency. The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) fell against the US Dollar for the tenth day in a row today.