SBP Reserves Fall For Third Straight Week to $7.7 Billion

The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased by a further $70 million on a weekly basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday. On September 1, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $7.779 billion, down $70 million compared to $7.849 billion on August 25. In a statement, the central bank said that the decline was mainly on account of debt repayments. Overall liquid foreign currency reserves held by the country, including net reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $ 13.127 billion, down $44 million over the previous week. The net reserves held by banks stood at $5.347 billion, registering an increase of $26 million during the week. The decline on a weekly basis is the sixth in the last seven weeks. The reserves held by the central bank have fallen by close to $950 million since July 14 when reserves stood at $8.727 billion.