SBP Reserves Fall by $74 Million to Dip Below $8 Billion Mark

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by $74 million on a weekly basis according to data issued by the central bank on Thursday. On April 19, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7.981 billion, down $74 million compared to $8.055 billion on April 12. In a statement, the central bank said the decrease 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 $13.281 billion, down $93 million over the previous week The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.299 billion, registering a decrease of $20 million during the week. It is pertinent to mention here that the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board is set to meet on April 29 to discuss the approval of a $1.1 billion loan for Pakistan. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb recently said that country is likely to secure more inflows in June, taking the foreign exchange reserves to the $10 billion level.