SBP Reserves Fall Below $11.5 Billion Due to Debt Repayments 

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) took a major hit on a weekly basis according to data issued by the central bank on Thursday.  According to the latest data released by the SBP, on January 17, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $11.449 billion, down $276 million compared to $11.725 billion on January 10. In a short statement, the central bank said the decline in reserves was 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 $16.189 billion, down 262 million over the previous week.    The net reserves held by banks were recorded at $4.741 billion, up $15 million from $4.726 billion last week.