SBP Reserves Plummet by $463 Million Due to External Debt Repayments

Foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) witnessed a substantial outflow of $463 million in the fourth week of 2022 that ended on 28 January 2022. The central bank’s weekly report released on Thursday revealed that the country’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves went down by $398 million on 28 January 2022, to $22.08 billion, compared to $22.48 billion in the previous week. SBP’s reserves fell by $463 million to $15.72 billion during the week under review, compared to $16.19 billion on 21 January. Meanwhile, the net foreign reserves held by the commercial banks stood at $6.356 billion, depicting an increase of $64.9 million on a weekly basis. According to the central bank, the decrease in the reserve position is due to external debt and various payments. It is noteworthy that the central bank has lost $4.346 billion since August 2021. In August of last year, SBP reserves were at a record high of $20.073 billion. Meanwhile, the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) maintained its impressive six-day winning streak against the US Dollar and reported big gains on Thursday’s interbank close. It gained 89 paisas against the dollar, 87 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD), 95 paisas against the Pound Sterling (GBP), and 90 paisas against the Euro (EUR).